A
prince consort is the husband of a
queen regnantA queen regnant is a female monarch who reigns in her own right, in contrast to a queen consort, who is the wife of a reigning king. An empress regnant is a female monarch who reigns in her own right over an empire....
who is not himself a
kingA monarchy is a form of government in which the office of head of state is usually held until death or abdication and is often hereditary and includes a royal house. In some cases, the monarch is elected...
in his own right.
Current examples include the
Prince Philip, Duke of EdinburghPrince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh is the husband of Elizabeth II. He is the United Kingdom's longest-serving consort and the oldest serving spouse of a reigning British monarch....
(husband of
Elizabeth IIElizabeth II is the constitutional monarch of 16 sovereign states known as the Commonwealth realms: the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Jamaica, Barbados, the Bahamas, Grenada, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Tuvalu, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Belize,...
, prince consort in each of the
realms of which she is QueenA Commonwealth realm is a sovereign state within the Commonwealth of Nations that has Elizabeth II as its monarch and head of state. The sixteen current realms have a combined land area of 18.8 million km² , and a population of 134 million, of which all, except about two million, live in the six...
), and Prince Henrik of Denmark (husband of Queen
Margrethe II of DenmarkMargrethe II is the Queen regnant of the Kingdom of Denmark. In 1972 she became the first female monarch of Denmark since Margaret I, ruler of the Scandinavian countries in 1375-1412 during the Kalmar Union.-Early life:...
).
In recognition of his status, a prince consort may be given a formal title, such as
PrincePrince is a general term for a ruler, monarch or member of a monarch's or former monarch's family, and is a hereditary title in the nobility of some European states. The feminine equivalent is a princess...
,
Prince Consort (see below) or
King consortKing consort is an alternative title to the more usual "prince consort" - which is a position given in some monarchies to the husband of a reigning queen. It is a symbolic title only, the sole constitutional function of the holder being similar to a prince consort, which is the male equivalent of a...
, with
Prince being the most common. However, most monarchies do not have formal rules on the styling of princes consort, and a prince consort may have no royal title. Exceptions exist such as in the case of
Prince Bernhard of Lippe-BiesterfeldPrince Bernhard of Lippe-Biesterfeld , later Prince Bernhard of the Netherlands, was prince consort of Queen Juliana of the Netherlands and father of six children, including the current monarch Queen Beatrix....
.
Prince Consort (capitalized) is a formal title. Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha is the only spouse of a
BritishThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
queen to have held it: it was awarded to him in 1857 by his wife,
Queen VictoriaVictoria was the monarch of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until her death. From 1 May 1876, she used the additional title of Empress of India....
(reigned 1837–1901). In 2005
Prince HenrikHenrik, Prince Consort of Denmark , is the husband of the Queen of Denmark, Margrethe II.-Early life:Henrik was born in Talence, Gironde, France...
, the spouse of
Margrethe II of DenmarkMargrethe II is the Queen regnant of the Kingdom of Denmark. In 1972 she became the first female monarch of Denmark since Margaret I, ruler of the Scandinavian countries in 1375-1412 during the Kalmar Union.-Early life:...
, was awarded the same title.
An example of use of the female counterpart of the term is Princess Consort
Princess Lalla Salma of MoroccoPrincess Lalla Salma of Morocco , is the princess consort of King Mohammed VI of Morocco and the first wife of a Moroccan ruler to have been publicly acknowledged and given a royal title....
, who is the first Moroccan royal wife to be granted a title in her own right. Neither the descriptive
princess consortPrincess consort is a title or an informal designation normally given to the wife of a sovereign prince. Since a male sovereign ruler is generally titled as a king and not a prince, the title of princess consort is not widely used. More rarely, it may be given to the spouse of a king, if the more...
nor the title 'Princess Consort' has yet been used in Western monarchies, as dynastic wives of kings have been styled
queens consortA queen consort is the wife of a reigning king. A queen consort usually shares her husband's rank and holds the feminine equivalent of the king's monarchical titles. Historically, queens consort do not share the king regnant's political and military powers. Most queens in history were queens consort...
, often with the title 'Queen'. However,
Clarence HouseClarence House is a royal home in London, situated on The Mall, in the City of Westminster. It is attached to St. James's Palace and shares the palace's garden. For nearly 50 years, from 1953 to 2002, it was home to Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother, but is since then the official residence of The...
has announced that when the present
Prince of WalesPrince Charles, Prince of Wales is the heir apparent and eldest son of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. Since 1958 his major title has been His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales. In Scotland he is additionally known as The Duke of Rothesay...
becomes the sovereign of the United Kingdom, his wife,
Duchess of CornwallThe Duchess of Cornwall is the title held by the wife of the Duke of Cornwall. Duke of Cornwall is a non-hereditary peerage held by the British Sovereign's eldest son and heir....
, will have the title
Her Royal Highness The Princess Consort rather than
Her Majesty The Queen as used by previous wives of kings (see
princess consortPrincess consort is a title or an informal designation normally given to the wife of a sovereign prince. Since a male sovereign ruler is generally titled as a king and not a prince, the title of princess consort is not widely used. More rarely, it may be given to the spouse of a king, if the more...
).
Non-European usage
The Imperial Chinese title of "駙馬" (fùmǎ), and its Manchu equivalent "額駙" (éfù), is sometimes translated as Prince consort. This was originally an office of the imperial household, later evolving into the title reserved for husbands of imperial princesses. These princes consort could hold other offices and titles in their own right.
See also
- List of British consorts
- List of royal consorts of Canada