Who Has Held the Queen Consort Title Throughout History?
There have been just eight Queens consort in the UK's history.
In the history of the United Kingdom, there have been 11 royal consorts. Of those 11, just three have been men—Prince George (married to Queen Anne), Prince Albert (married to Queen Victoria), and Prince Philip (married to Queen Elizabeth II). The titles of the male consorts have been inconsistent over the years; George was the Duke of Cumberland, Prince Albert was "Prince Consort," and Prince Philip was the Duke of Edinburgh. However, for the eight women, they are automatically styled as Queen, and given the title Queen Consort.
Before the United Kingdom, there were Scottish royal consorts, English royal consorts, and Irish royal consorts, but for our purposes, we will focus on those who have been queen consort since the union of England and Scotland in 1707, and therefore queen consort of the United Kingdom.
With the upcoming coronation of King Charles III and his wife, Queen Camilla, we thought it was an apt time to take a look back through the eight Queens Consort in British history:
Caroline of Ansbach (Queen Caroline)
Born: Caroline of Brandenburg-Ansbach
Spouse: King George II
Tenure as Queen Consort: June 11, 1727 (King George II's accession) - November 20, 1737 (her death)
Coronation: October 11, 1727
Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz (Queen Charlotte)
Born: Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz
Spouse: King George III
Tenure as Queen Consort: September 8, 1761 (marriage to King George III) - November 17, 1818 (her death)
Coronation: September 22, 1761
Queen Charlotte was the longest-serving queen consort in UK history. A fictionalized version of her marriage is coming to Netflix this week, in Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story.
Caroline of Brunswick
Born: Caroline of Brunswick-Wolfenbütte
Spouse: King George IV
Tenure as Queen Consort: January 29, 1820 (accession of King George IV) - August 7, 1821 (her death)
Coronation: She was never crowned, as she was estranged from her husband, King George IV, at the time of his accession. He barred her from attending the coronation; she died three weeks later.
Adelaide of Saxe-Meiningen (Queen Adelaide)
Born: Adelaide of Saxe-Meiningen
Spouse: King William IV
Tenure as Queen Consort: June 26, 1830 (accession
of King William IV) - June 20, 1837 (his death)
Coronation: September 8, 1831
After the death of King William IV, Adelaide was styled as the Queen Dowager. She died in 1849, during the reign of her niece, Queen Victoria.
Princess Alexandra of Denmark (Queen Alexandra)
Born: Princess Alexandra of Denmark
Spouse: King Edward VII
Tenure as Queen Consort: January 22, 1901 (accession of King Edward VII) - May 6, 1910 (his death)
Coronation: August 9, 1902. Queen Alexandra was crowned with a brand new crown made with the Koh-i-Noor diamond.
After Edward died, Alexandra was styled as the Queen Mother, as their son, George, became King George V. She did not attend her son's coronation.
Princess Mary of Teck (Queen Mary)
Born: Princess Mary of Teck
Spouse: King George V
Tenure as Queen Consort: May 6, 1910 (accession of King George V) - January 20, 1936 (his death)
Coronation: June 22, 1911
Two of her sons would become king: King Edward VIII and King George VI. She did not live to see the coronation of her granddaughter, Queen Elizabeth II.
Lady Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon (Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother)
Born: Lady Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon
Spouse: King George VI
Tenure as Queen Consort: December 11, 1936 (accession of King George VI) - February 6, 1952 (his death)
Coronation: May 12, 1937
After the death of her husband and the accession of her daughter, she was known as Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother, which was often shortened to just the "Queen Mother" or the "Queen Mum." She died in 2002 at the age of 101.
Camilla Parker Bowles (Queen Camilla)
Born: Camilla Shand
Spouse: King Charles III
Tenure as Queen Consort: September 8, 2022 (accession of King Charles III) - present
Coronation: May 6, 2023
When Camilla married Charles in 2005, it was announced Camilla would be known as Princess Consort. However, on Queen Elizabeth's Platinum Jubilee, she announced Camilla should be called Queen Consort. Upon Queen Elizabeth's death, Camilla became styled as Camilla, Queen Consort.
Read more: Everything you need to know about King Charles's coronation
Emily Burack (she/her) is the Senior News Editor for Town & Country, where she covers entertainment, culture, the royals, and a range of other subjects. Before joining T&C, she was the deputy managing editor at Hey Alma, a Jewish culture site. Follow her @emburack on Twitter and Instagram.
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