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King consort
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King consort is a title given in some monarchies to the husband of a queen regnant. Nowadays, it is a symbolic title only, the sole constitutional function of the holder being similar to a queen consort, namely to produce an heir to the throne. Spain, England and Scotland have all had kings consort; however, since the rank of king normally outranks that of queen, in most monarchies the queen's husband is given the title of prince or prince consort instead, as in the case of Prince Albert, Queen Victoria's husband.
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King consort is a title given in some monarchies to the husband of a queen regnant. Nowadays, it is a symbolic title only, the sole constitutional function of the holder being similar to a queen consort, namely to produce an heir to the throne. Spain, England and Scotland have all had kings consort; however, since the rank of king normally outranks that of queen, in most monarchies the queen's husband is given the title of prince or prince consort instead, as in the case of Prince Albert, Queen Victoria's husband. In Denmark and the Netherlands, the queen's husband is made a prince. In England, Mary I's husband, the future Philip II of Spain, was named King Consort; however, no subsequent English or British queen regnant's husband has been granted the title. (The husband of Mary II, William III, was named co-sovereign with his wife and he was thus not king consort.)
Mary I, Queen of England (reigned 1553–1558), accordingly styled her husband Philip King of England and that was recognized in the administration of the realm, where the dating went "Mary & Philip"; Philip was also King of Naples, and later in his own right King Philip II of Spain (reigned 1556–1598) and King Philip I of Portugal (reigned 1580–1598). Philip lost his English title when his wife died.
Mary I, Queen of Scots (reigned 1542–1567), married Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley, the eldest son of the Earl and Countess of Lennox in July 1565. Darnley was a great-grandson of King Henry VII of England and Mary's first cousin, and he was considered to have a strong claim to the Scottish throne. On the evening before their marriage, Mary proclaimed Darnley "King of Scots", a title that she could not legally grant him without the consent of Parliament, but which was never formally challenged. However, this title did not grant him any automatic right of rule or of succession to the throne if Mary should die. For that to happen, it was necessary that Mary should grant him the Crown Matrimonial of Scotland. In 1558, the Crown Matrimonial had been granted to her short-lived first husband, King Francis II of France, with the consent of the Scottish Parliament, which meant that if Mary had died before Francis, Francis would have also become the king of Scotland and Scotland might well have become permanently subject to the French Crown. Mary's marriage to Darnley rapidly became unhappy, and despite Darnley's constant demands for the Crown Matrimonial, Mary never gave it to him. If she had, Darnley would have inherited the throne of Scotland if Mary (and their children, if any) had predeceased him. Under that scenario, if Darnley had then remarried and had children with his new queen, he would have started a new dynastic line and those children also would have been the legitimate heirs to the Scottish throne. (However, Darnley and Mary did have one son, who outlived both parents and became James VI of Scotland and later James I of England and Ireland, the heir not only of his mother Mary but also of Elizabeth I, Queen of England.)
Victoria of the United Kingdom (reigned 1837–1901) wanted to make her husband Albert king consort. But the British government refused to introduce a bill allowing it, as Albert was a foreigner. She instead gave him the title of Prince Consort in 1857.
In the United Kingdom, there is no automatic right of the consort of a queen to receive any title, as with any husband of a suo jure peeress. Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom (acceded 1952) did not create her husband Philip, Duke of Edinburgh a Prince of the United Kingdom until 1957, five years after her accession. He has never been formally designated Prince Consort or King Consort.
In the event that a king consort were to outlive his wife, he would remain a king in the same way that a queen dowager remains a queen after being a consort. He would retain the style His Majesty and would remain a member of the royal household. This was also the case with Francis, Duke of Cádiz. He remained King even after his wife's reign was over. Also if a King consort produced an heir to the throne and his son or daughter is the new king or queen regnant, the king could also be given the title king father. Like that of a queen mother, which is normally given to queens consort after they become dowager queens. This is similar to when King Norodom Sihanouk of Cambodia abdicated and was later given the title HM King-Father Norodom Sihanouk.
See also
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