Why Was Philip Not King Consort?

What happens to the Queen consort if the King does?

If King Charles dies, will Camilla become queen? – Following the death of the King, is believed that Camilla would retain her official title of Queen Consort. However, Camilla will not be Queen Regent (the head of state), but rather continue in her duty to the new head of state, as she is not named in the royal line of succession.

Does Queen Consort ever become queen?

Can a consort become a queen? – No, a queen consort cannot become a queen. This is because while a queen consort title is acquired through marriage, the title and role of a reigning monarch can only be inherited. Typically this occurs when a sovereign abdicates the throne or passes away, as Queen Elizabeth did.

Can a consort become king?

What is a queen consort? Trail An introduction to consorts past and present. Queen Camilla PA Images / Alamy Stock Photo Reading time: 4 minutes A consort is the title for the wife or husband of a monarch. In the past consorts have mostly been queens consort. A royal consort has no constitutional power but supports their spouse in his or her duties as sovereign.

There are a several other titles for queens. The official term for a reigning queen, such as Queen Elizabeth II, is queen regnant, A dowager queen is a former queen consort whose husband has died. Dowager queens may also take the title of queen mother, referring to their role as mother of the monarch.

Queen Elizabeth, consort of King George VI, was Queen Mother to Queen Elizabeth II. Family photo of Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother, King George VI, Princess Margaret and Queen Elizabeth II (RCIN 2943771) The title ‘king consort’ does not exist but male consorts have held a variety of other titles in the past. The title king is reserved for the reigning monarch who has inherited the throne, like King Charles III. Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh waving to the crowds from the balcony of Buckingham Palace (RCIN 2002628) Queens consort usually take part in the coronation, undertaking many of the same ceremonies as their husbands. The consort has traditionally worn elaborate robes and walked in the procession under a canopy.

1. They have also been anointed with holy oil and been crowned.
2. The earliest surviving consort’s crown is that created in 1685 for Queen Mary of Modena.
3. Since the early-20th century, it was traditional for a new crown to be created for the queen consort.
4. However Her Majesty Queen Camilla did not have a new crown created for the Coronation in 2023.

Mary of Modena was the second wife of James II. She was queen consort at the time of his coronation in 1685. Two crowns were made for her to wear – a Coronation Crown and a ‘Rich Crown’ or Crown of State. Her Crown of State was later worn by Queen Caroline, consort of George II at their coronation in 1727. Portrait of Mary of Modena (RCIN 403225) and the State Crown of Mary of Modena (RCIN 31707) Queen Alexandra was the consort of King Edward VII. For her coronation she broke with tradition and decided not to wear the crowns originally made for Mary of Modena. Portrait of Queen Alexandra wearing coronation robes. Her crown rests on a cushion (RCIN 404554) Queen Mary was the consort of King George V. They were crowned together at Westminster Abbey in 1911. The Queen also had a new crown for the coronation. This was made by the firm of royal goldsmiths, Garrard & Co. Queen Mary in her coronation robes (RCIN 402024) and Queen Mary’s Crown (RCIN 31704) Queen Elizabeth was the consort of King George VI. For the coronation in 1937 she had a crown created by Garrard & Co. Most of the diamonds were reused from a circlet made for Queen Victoria and reset for the coronation. Portrait of Queen Elizabeth (RCIN 403423) and her Coronation Robe (RCIN 75052) Trail Everything you need to know about the famous collection. Trail The ultimate guide to coronations past and present.6 fascinating facts about the magnificent coach. Trail See behind the scenes as paintings are moved at Windsor Castle.

Will Kate Middleton be queen?

When Prince William is King, Kate will indeed become Queen Consort – In short: Yes, Kate will be Queen, but there are different types of queens you should probably know about. (I mean, this is the royal family we’re talking about! Things aren’t simple.) While we can expect Queen Catherine in our future, she will never be a queen in the same way the late Queen Elizabeth II was. Chris Jackson // Getty Images Kate will instead be a queen consort, the wife of a reigning king (William, of course). In the role, she will support her husband in his duties, attend engagements, and help with charitable organizations that resonate with her.

If you really wanna get into the weeds of that position, the royal family’s website states, “The role of the Queen’s Consort is primarily to provide companionship and moral and practical support to the Monarch. The Consort does not hold a formal position in the structure of government see State papers or hold official audiences.” Camilla Parker Bowles was a queen consort (before the “consort” was “quietly” dropped from her name recently, but that’s a whole other story 👀).

And before Camilla, the most recent person to hold the title was Queen Elizabeth II’s mother, although following the death of her husband, King George VI, she assumed the title of the Queen Mother so there would be no confusion between her and her daughter Elizabeth. Samir Hussein // Getty Images

Why wasn t Camilla suitable for Charles?

Why Couldn’t Charles just marry Camilla in the first place? – The question was tackled in Sally Bedell Smith’s biography, Prince Charles: The Passions and Paradoxes of an Improbable Life, According to Bedell Smith, right from the start Charles adored the then-Camilla Shand, who’s close in age to Charles (Diana was 13 years younger) and has always treated him as an equal rather than as someone she idolized.

1. However, the royal family wasn’t interested in having Camilla as its princess.
2. For one thing, she was perceived as an “experienced” woman, which was a nonstarter for the royal family back then in terms of a suitable spouse for Prince Charles.
3. For another, she wasn’t perceived as “aristocratic” enough to be a princess, according to The Duchess: Camilla Parker Bowles and the Love Affair That Rocked the Crown by Penny Junor.

“Lovely for you two to have a fling, but this absolutely cannot end in marriage,” Prince Charles’s great uncle Lord Mountbatten advised him, according to the documentary The Real Camilla: HRH the Duchess of Cornwall, Soon after, Charles was called away on naval business overseas, and used the time to put distance between himself and Camilla.

Did Camilla lose her virginity to Charles?

Prince Harry sent shockwaves around the world when revealing the story of how he lost his virginity in his explosive memoir Spare. The Duke of Sussex, 38, wrote how a horse-loving ‘older woman’ treated him ‘not unlike a young stallion’ and ‘smacked my rump and sent me off to graze’ after a ‘quick ride’.

• His graphic description of the ‘inglorious episode’ in a pub field in July 2001 provoked international intrigue over the mystery lover’s identity which saw a number of women rule themselves.
• That is until Sasha Walpole, 40, claimed last week that Harry was describing her in his memoir after keeping their moment of passion a secret for 21 years,

Harry was 16 at the time and Mrs Walpole was celebrating her 19th birthday. She had known the Harry since her days as a groom at the future King Charles’ Gloucestershire estate, Highgrove. Sasha Walpole sparked a media frenzy when she claimed last week that Harry was describing her in his memoir Spare when he recounted how he first had sex in a field behind a busy pub with an older woman Mrs Walpole knew that it was only a matter of time until her name leaked and so decided to tell her story to The Mail on Sunday.

• However, until Prince Harry’s confession, the rest of the British Royal Family have always remained tight-lipped about their sex lives and loss of virginity.
• But that doesn’t mean rumours haven’t been rife throughout the years – from suggestions Princess Anne lost her virginity to Camilla’s ex-husband Andrew Parker Bowles OBE to Charles being ‘taught about sex by Carry On Cleo star Amanda Barrie’.

Here, FEMAIL investigates. KING CHARLES AND AMANDA BARRIE Prince Charles and Amanda Barrie are seen here at a fundraising event at Waddeson Manor in Buckinghamshire in 2001 Carry On Cleo’s Amanda Barrie, 87, has previously said she was selected as an ‘older woman’ to teach a teenage Charles all about sex, reported the Daily Mail in 2018.

Twenty years ago, she claimed that the actor James Robertson Justice, a friend of Prince Philip, asked her to his house in Scotland to meet the young Charles, then attending Gordonstoun school, and begin a romance with him. Barrie, who’d met Prince Philip in the Fifties at the Saddle Room, a club run by singer Helene Cordet, said her task would be to ‘help in the initiation of the future King’.

Barrie claimed Robertson Justice, an actor who played Sir Lancelot Spratt in Doctor In Love and who died in 1975, said it was the ‘ultimate compliment, but don’t be offended by it’. She said: ‘He was obviously very embarrassed and went round and round in circles before it came out.

• Finally, he admitted he was one of eight people who had been selected to help ‘launch the royal males into their future life’, as he put it.
• ‘Between them, they had to choose anyone they thought would be suitable to teach Prince Charles about sex, and James had decided that I was suitable.
• ‘He actually said: “We don’t really want people who are experienced but on the other hand, well, obviously they have to know the ropes.

Frankly, the main thing one needs is a sense of humour and I know you have got that.”‘ Barrie said: ‘James indicated that if things went well, I would be a kind of fixture — not a girlfriend, but someone in the background. He said: “They can’t possibly go off into the world without their own person.”‘ However, Barrie also recalled: ‘I thought that because Charles was so young, it might be a dreadful experience and I might be blamed.

• I had to say “no”.’ Speaking to GB News in 2021, she claimed: ‘It was true, it was put to me.
• They said they wanted someone with not too much experience but a sense of humour.’ Questioned if Charles had asked for her, the actress said: ‘Oh no, he wouldn’t have been asking.
• He was 14 darling,’ reported The Express.

However, according to Charles’s official biographer Jonathan Dimbleby, he was introduced to the ways of love as a student at Cambridge. He lost his virginity to Lucia Santa Cruz, the beautiful and brainy daughter of the Chilean ambassador, who worked for the master of his Cambridge college, the former Tory politician Lord ‘Rab’ Butler, we are told.

QUEEN CONSORT CAMILLA AND KEVIN BURKE Mrs Rosalind Shand (left) and her daughter Miss Camilla Shand (right; later Camilla Parker Bowles; and now Queen Consort) in March 1965 Some claim the person who took Camilla’s virginity was Kevin Burke, an independently wealthy 19-year-old who was then a handsome fixture on the debutante scene in the late ’60s, reported the Daily Mail in 2016.

‘She was terrific fun, immensely popular, and although she wasn’t a beauty like Mary Gaye, she was attractive and sexy,’ recalled Burke later. ‘She was never tongue-tied or shy, she always had something amusing to say.’ He added: ‘I remained with Camilla all that year.

1. I suppose we were in love.
2. Then she ditched me.’ In a Channel 4 documentary in 2007, the Queen Consort was portrayed as ‘woman of easy virtue’ whose lost virginity prevented her marrying Charles in her youth.
3. During the same year, however, the Daily Mail reported that she had not had many boyfriends during her youth and described her as ‘positively chaste by today’s standards’.

The documentary goes on to suggest she lost her virginity at 17 – and with it the chance of becoming a royal bride. The couple are described as ’emotionally and physically a perfect match’ but viewers are told that Charles ‘cruelly’ could not marry the ‘love of his life’.

1. The events following 17-year-old Camilla Shand’s debutante ball in March 1965 were among the reasons.
2. Gyles Brandreth, author of Charles & Camilla, said: ‘The week of her coming out party was a significant one for Camilla Shand.
3. At the end of it she lost her virginity.
4. ‘It may seem prurient for us to even discuss when and how the Duchess of Cornwall lost her virginity but actually it’s a legitimate question.

‘In those days it would have been essential for the Prince of Wales to marry a virgin bride.’ Royal author and biographer Christopher Wilson added: ‘There was never any question of his marrying Camilla. ‘She was not a virgin and the court certainly had no idea of allowing him (Charles) to marry a woman, let’s say, of easy virtue.

Charles knew that and Camilla knew that.’ PRINCESS ANNE AND ANDREW PARKER BOWLES Princess Anne, Princess Royal, and Andrew Parker Bowles on Day 1 of Royal Ascot at Ascot Racecourse on June 16, 2015 The Princess Royal, now 72, is thought to have lost her virginity to Camilla’s ex-husband Andrew Parker Bowles OBE, royal expert Phil Dampier claimed.

He said: ‘At the time he was an extremely attractive and confident man who was very experienced sexually and had a lot of girlfriends.’ Mr Bowles, now 83, was a retired British army officer and a seasoned skilled polo player. It was claimed that Princess Anne was madly in love with him at the time, but was too young for him, with there being an 11-year age gap.

1. Another roadblock was the Princess Royal always thought he had the potential to be unfaithful, the International Business Times reported.
2. However, even though Anne and Camilla fell in love with Andrew, a ‘love triangle’ never emerged and there was reportedly no overlap between Andrew’s relationship with the two royals.

PRINCESS DIANA AND CHARLES Diana and Charles on their wedding day on July 29, 1981 in London When Princess Diana agreed to marry Charles, the royal bride’s sex life became a hot topic of conversation. In the Diana chronicles, written by Tina Brown, it was suggested the late Queen wanted her eldest son to marry the innocent looking Ms Spencer.

At the age of 19, it was reported she had never had a boyfriend before she had met the future king. But before the wedding, in a bombshell conversation, Lord Fermoy, Diana’s uncle, was quoted in the Washington Post assuring people she had never ‘had a lover’ before Charles. In fact, Diana being a virgin played a major part in the two getting married, according to Ms Brown.

The writer said trying to find a candidate for Charles was like looking for the ‘Loch Ness monster’. As Camilla was not a virgin, and did not fulfil the archaic requirement of virginity in a royal bride, she was said to be out of the question. PRINCE HARRY AND SASHA WALPOLE In an interview on Piers Morgan Uncensored broadcast on TalkTV last night, Ms Walpole discussed their alleged encounter and said she wanted to ‘hide’ when the book came out In his memoir Spare, released in January, Harry described the event of losing his virginity as an ‘inglorious episode’.

1. He recounted how one of the royal family’s bodyguards, Marko, paid him a visit at the end of 2001 when he was still a pupil at Eton College in Windsor, aged 16 or 17, and told the prince he had been sent to ‘find out the truth’.
2. Harry wrote: ‘I suspected he was referring to my recent loss of virginity.

Inglorious episode, with an older woman. She liked horses, quite a lot, and treated me not unlike a young stallion. ‘Quick ride, after which she’d smacked my rump and sent me off to graze. Among the many things about it that were wrong: It happened in a grassy field behind a busy pub.

1. Obviously, someone had seen us.’ The woman who claims she is the person the Duke of Sussex lost his virginity to has said she felt ‘disbelief he went into so much detail’ about it in his book.
2. Sasha Walpole claims Harry was describing her in his memoir when he recounted how he first had sex in a field behind a busy pub with an older woman.

In an interview on Piers Morgan Uncensored broadcast on TalkTV on Thursday, she discussed their alleged encounter and said she wanted to ‘hide’ when the book came out. Ms Walpole, 40, now a digger driver, said: ‘It’s been a bit of a whirlwind week, and hopefully it’s a means to an end and I can get back, and back to normality, go back to work, drive my digger – hide back under my rock.’ She said: ‘I didn’t think it would hit the headlines like it did.

• At first I was a bit like, ‘no, just hide, it will be fine, it will go away like it has done in the past’.
• ‘Suddenly you realise that it’s getting closer, your world is getting smaller.
• A lot more people are talking about it.
• Friends from back home are getting questioned, accused.
• ‘I was just like, do you know what, the only way to stop it is just come forward and say it’s me.

And then hopefully, the sooner it’s come out it will go and I can carry on with my little life.’ Ms Walpole told the broadcaster she was left in ‘disbelief he went into so much detail because then it’s obvious who it was’, adding: ‘Suddenly I was like, oh no, everyone is going to know and then the next day all the messages started.’

Does Prince William bow to Camilla?

Prince William defied royal protocol at the King’s Coronation when he chose not to bow to Queen Camilla at the Coronation Concert. A body language expert claims that the Prince of Wales might have found it strange to perform such a gesture to his stepmother.

1. Instead, Judi James said gut instinct might have seen him subconsciously side with his late mother, Princess Diana, the Mirror reports.
2. The majority of the royal family had already taken their allocated seats for the special concert at Windsor on May 7 when King Charles and Queen Camilla arrived and most of the Firm then bowed or curtseyed to the king only.

Prince George and Princess Charlotte even followed their father’s lead and failed to formally greet their grandmother. However, their mum Kate chose to make a point of curtseying to both royals. Judi James told the Express.co.uk that royal protocol states lower royals must bow or curtsey to those in a higher position than them so with Camilla now above the Prince of Wales as Queen, William should have formally addressed her. Kate made a point of curtseying to Queen Camilla (Image: Jonathan Brady/PA Wire/ Getty) However, the body language expert said there is a possibility that he had already done so earlier in the day off camera and didn’t feel the ned to do it again. Ms James said: “Would William have felt comfortable bowing to the woman who took the place of his mother on the throne of the UK? “He turns to look at his father but avoids looking at his stepmother.” Kate however offered a “warm” gesture to her mother-in-law. Most of the Firm defied royal protocol and only bowed to the king at the concert (Image: Photo by KIN CHEUNG/POOL/AFP via Getty Images) “It looks like an appeasement gesture after Camilla has been elevated to the role of Queen.” Ms James opined: “Kate engages Camilla in some eye contact and a warm smile before dropping into a curtsy that she might not have performed before the Coronation. King Charles and Queen Camilla were officially crowned on May 6 (Image: HUGO BURNAND/BUCKINGHAM PALACE/AFP via Getty Images) Ms James argued that this may be because Kate herself will one day be a Queen Consort and would want the same sort of respect given to her.

Does Camilla outrank Kate?

Kate Middleton Didn’t Hesitate When Asked About the First Thing She Will Do When She Is Queen > > Source: mega May 25 2023, Published 6:58 p.m. ET will become Queen Consort upon the death of and the accession of her husband,, to the throne. When asked by a child at the 2023 the first thing she will do when she becomes Queen at this unknown future date, the princess didn’t hesitate to answer she would “help kids.” Although a monarch’s consort is not a constitutional position, it does bring with it the largest platform for charitable causes and patronages next to the Sovereign within the royal family. Source: mega As The Royal Observer previously reported, Kate risked being by Charles III for arriving at the annual springtime flower exhibit before himself and Queen Camilla. As the next in line behind Camilla for Queen Consort, the princess should have entered the show after Their Majesties.

The order is reversed for a coronation procession where both William and Kate showed up late and entered the Abbey last when they should have processed to their seats before Queen Camilla and then the king as the grand finale. But despite these gaffes, or slights to the king and queen depending on interpretations, the Princess of Wales is observing protocol more and more as she prepares to bring the Crown well into the latter part of the 21st century.

At the same show, she request as it breached royal etiquette, but she is also snubbing protocol at the same time due to her feud with the Queen that left her over seating arrangements at the crowning ceremony. Although Camilla outranks Kate as a “Majesty” compared to her “HRH” status, the princess’ firstborn son,, will one day inherit the throne, which is not something the current Queen can claim. Source: mega Abdication is a no-go in the British monarchy. It will likely be many years before Kate becomes queen, and this is certainly the case if the 74-year-old King Charles lives as long as his mother, Queen Elizabeth II, who died at the age of 96. Source: mega reported on Kate’s comments at the Chelsea Flower Show. GET BREAKING ROYAL NEWS STRAIGHT TO YOUR INBOX. : Kate Middleton Didn’t Hesitate When Asked About the First Thing She Will Do When She Is Queen

Why did Kate refuse to curtsy to Queen Camilla?

Princess of Wales refused to curtsy to Queen Camilla due to anger over coronation invitations. Rumours are swirling of growing tensions within the Royal Family between Kate Middleton and Queen Camilla following King Charles’ Coronation.

Can a Queen Consort rule after the King dies?

Will Queen Camilla ever be reigning monarch?

• King and Queen Consort will be officially crowned during a on Saturday 6 May.
• The, which will be held at Westminster Abbey, London, and be conducted by the Archbishop of Canterbury, will take place in front of an estimated 2,000 guests, including members of the royal family, foreign dignitaries and celebrities.
• During the ceremony, Charles’ wife, She is set to become Queen Camilla when she is
• Camilla’s forthcoming title change was, which invited guests to the “coronation of their majesties, and Queen Camilla”.
• The confirmation that the King’s wife will drop the “consort” from her title came after Queen Elizabeth II said in February last year that it was her “sincere wish that, when that time comes, Camilla will be known as Queen Consort”.
• A senior royal aide told the last month that it “made sense to refer to her Majesty as The Queen Consort in the early months of His Majesty’s reign” as a way of distinguishing her from the late monarch, but that the coronation is “an appropriate time to start using ‘Queen Camilla’ in an official capacity”.
• “All former Queen consorts have been known as Queen plus their first name,” the royal aide added.
• If King Charles dies, will Camilla be Queen?
• Although Camilla will drop the “consort” from her title, her official role will remain that of the Queen Consort, or the reigning monarch’s wife, which means she will never be the reigning Queen.

between Camilla’s role, which sees her become Queen through marriage, and the title “Queen Regnant,” which refers to a woman who has ascended the throne and has sovereign power, is, Only members of the royal family born in the can become monarchs. When Queen Elizabeth II’s father King George VI ascended the throne unexpectedly following the abdication of his brother in December 1936, his wife Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon became Queen Elizabeth. Access unlimited streaming of movies and TV shows with Amazon Prime Video Sign up now for a 30-day free trial Access unlimited streaming of movies and TV shows with Amazon Prime Video Sign up now for a 30-day free trial Following King George VI’s death in 1952, the couple’s eldest daughter and successor Queen Elizabeth II ascended the throne, at which point The same line of succession will be followed if King Charles III, 74, is to die, with the monarch’s eldest son Prince William next in line to the throne.

1. What will Camilla’s role as Queen entail?
2. Unlike her husband, who plays a constitutional role in approving bills before they become law, the wife of the King does not hold a formal position in the structure of the government nor does she see official state papers or hold official audiences.
3. According to, Queen Camilla’s role will include supporting the King as he carries out “his work and duties,” and “undertaking public engagements on behalf of the charities that she supports”.
4. As noted by the Palace, the King’s wife of 18 years has become Patron or President of more than 90 charities.

: Will Queen Camilla ever be reigning monarch?

What did Princess Anne say to Camilla?

Camilla ‘confronted by Princess Anne’ over Queen title at Coronation dinner Princess Diana’s dressmaker David Emanuel claimed that Princess Anne confronted Camilla during a Coronation dinner, telling her that her title should be Queen Consort and not Queen Queen Camilla and Princess Anne had a tense clash

• was allegedly confronted by over her new title at a tense dinner with other members of the Royal Family.
• The Princess Royal is alleged to have told her sister-in-law that her title is Queen Consort and not Queen, according to Princess Diana’s dressmaker, David Emanuel.
• He claimed that the topic of Camilla’s new title is “highly charged” and that “a lot of people” are “unhappy” that she will be referred to as Queen rather than Queen Consort.
• The King’s wife was reportedly confronted by Anne as the designer said the “whole situation” is “very difficult” amid claims that not everyone accepts Camilla’s new title.

Princess Anne allegedly told Camilla that she is Queen Consort, not Queen ( Getty Images) Speaking to Dan Wootton on GB News, Mr Emanuel, who designed Princess Diana’s wedding dress in 1981, said: “I heard that there was a Coronation dinner with which obviously the King and Camila were there, and apparently the Princess Royal said, ‘You’re not Queen, you’re the Queen’s consort’.” He added: “I understood from Her Majesty the Queen, she said she should be Queen Consort.

1. During the Coronation, Princess Anne will feature in the procession as the prestigious “Gold-Stick-in-Waiting”, a position historically handed to a person entrusted with the personal safety of the sovereign.
2. As a “personal aide-de-camp” to His Majesty, Anne will travel on horseback behind the new King and Queen after they are crowned at Westminster Abbey on May 6.
3. As Charles and Camilla ride in the Gold State Coach back to Buckingham Palace, Anne will lead the larger procession featuring 6,000 armed services personnel.
4. The privilege dates back to the 15th century in Tudor times, when two officers – a Gold Stick and a Silver Stick, were placed close to the sovereign to protect him or her from danger.

• One of the guests at the Coronation is Camilla’s former husband to her for 22 years from 1973 to 1995.
• Friends of the 83-year-old said he is “a bit of a rogue” and “very naughty with women”, according to a source who spoke to
• Andrew also once had, but the two reportedly remain close friends.
• His grandchildren Freddy, 13, and twin boys Gus and Louis, also 13, will carry the train of Camilla’s robes.

According to the newspaper, a friend of the Parker Bowles family said: “They are joined at the hip. He arranges so much for her. They have lunch together the whole time. He’s right in there. He was always, and still is, Camilla’s co-conspirator.” You can find this story in Or by navigating to the user icon in the top right.

Why does the queen consort not become queen?

Can a consort become a queen? – No, a queen consort cannot become a queen. This is because while a queen consort title is acquired through marriage, the title and role of a reigning monarch can only be inherited. Typically this occurs when a sovereign abdicates the throne or passes away, as Queen Elizabeth did.

Does the queen consort become ruler if the king dies?

What is a Queen Consort? Why are we studying Queens Consort? What power(s) did Queens Consort have? What is the Court? What is cultural transfer? What is HERA?

What is a Queen Consort? A Queen Consort is the wife of a ruling monarch. In our period, she usually originates from another territory from that of her husband. She was most generally of royal or noble birth. Her marriage to the King served as a political and dynastic union essential to maintaining the power, status and prestige of both realms joined by the union.

To continue the royal line. A consort’s main role was to produce several male children – ‘an heir and a spare’. Given that lineage passed down the male line, securing a clear line of succession for the crown was essential to a realm’s stability. Where succession was unclear – where no heir existed – considerable turmoil, even civil war, could follow.To forge alliances between two or more kingdoms. Marriage could be a way in which the balance of power in Europe was altered, a form of dynastic chess in which the Queens were pawns moved around the continent. Forging unions with other powerful kingdoms was a necessary part of dynastic politics.Financial. The Consort generally arrived with a dowry. These varied in size, but could be a substantial life-line to a cash-strapped king. They may also have included new territories, and the Queen Consort consequently created avenues by which empires and trade routes could be expanded.

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Why are we studying Queens Consort? The aims of our project are to learn how culture was transferred between European kingdoms through the person and the court of the consort. Studying these exchanges helps us to draw important conclusions in two areas: culture ; and politics, Culture

Each Consort may have brought with her a chaplain, artists, musicians, cooks, and collections of books and artefacts which were foreign to her new kingdom. She thereby brought a significant injection of culture.By tracing the effect which these cultural transfers had on the kingdoms involved, in art, music, architecture, fashion, literature and religious culture, we hope to peel back the modern map of Europe – in which national boundaries can appear fixed – to highlight the fluidity of exchange which dynastic culture facilitated.Doing this helps us to create a more nuanced picture of national pasts and national identities.

Politics

Highlighting the role(s) which Consorts played in culture also allows us to re-evaluate the place of women in politics.Although largely excluded from the formal mechanisms of political power, by creating cultural arenas at court the consort could exert forms of indirect and soft power – attracting the great and the good to plays, masques, and festivities was an excellent environment in which to create factions and apply pressure to secure political ends.Often the agency of women in these contexts has been less visible in the study of the past, but in the world of the court – driven as it was by spectacle, intrigue, rumour and subtle mechanisms of power – they were often the agents who which determined the direction in which national political currents ran.

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What power(s) did Queens Consort have? This varied hugely between nations. However, a general rule of thumb may be observed:

A distinction must be made between a Queen Consort, a Queen Regent and a Queen Regnant:

A Queen Regnant is a Queen in her own right, having inherited the throne after the death of the previous monarch. Britain was one of the few territories that allowed a woman to succeed to the throne.By contrast a Queen Consort, although having the same rank and equivalent titles as the King, is solely dependent on him for her position. If he died, she generally became a Queen Dowager.If she had an underage son when her husband died, she could become a Queen Regent until her son came of age. The power of the Regent varied enormously in various territories and periods.

The precise terms governing the Consort’s life at court were generally negotiated in the marriage contract.

Queens Consort rarely shared the King’s military and constitutional powers.They might have a considerable measure of independence, however.

There are many instances of Queens who professed a different Christian denomination being awarded the dispensation to practise their faith in a private chapel at court.Queens Consort also generally ran their own Courts, and consequently acted as significant patrons of the arts and culture.They could also – through extensive networks of correspondence – act as conveyors of news, brokers of power, and exert considerable diplomatic influence in realms across Europe.Their heavy involvement in the marriage negotiations of their own children also accorded them a significant measure of political power in dictating the future of their adopted realm and their own dynasty.

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What is the Court? The court is the institution comprising the extended household of the monarch. The institution was very mobile and moved with the monarchs between their various residences. It included the royal family, their attendants, prominent nobles (and their attendants), and those involved in the running of government.

The site of the day-to-day running of a realm.The site of diplomacy.The site in which justice was dispensed.A representation of the monarchy’s majesty and power to his/her subjects.The central showcase of the arts. Entertaining the Court was crucial, and it was therefore the conduit for patronage in art, music, theatre and other arts.

Given that the period 1500-1800 was an era in which influence was determined by the amount of access one could gain to the monarch, the court was the centre of noble culture. Having the King or Queen’s ear could facilitate the advancement of one’s own career (or political agenda).The highest avenues of this influence were the offices of the King/Queen’s household.

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What is cultural transfer? Cultural transfer occurs when a body of materials or ideas crosses existing boundaries. The acts of translation and interpretation which inevitably follow when values, beliefs and practices are shared across cultural and linguistic borders tell powerful stories about the formation of national identities and histories.

In our project, cultural transfer relates to the Queen Consort bringing foreign artistic, literary, and cultural items and ideas to her new kingdom, and the impact which this may have had on that kingdom. Sometimes this is reciprocal: she sends ideas, personnel and artefacts from her new court back home.

On the surface, this could appear straightforward : the Consort may, for instance, bring a large library with her, containing aspects of literature/philosophy/political debate unfamiliar in her new kingdom. By tracing the impact of that collection, it may be possible to see whether it sparked previously unseen debates about politics or philosophy in that kingdom.

We can also see how growth in one culture can be partly the result of interaction with another. The same effects may be traceable for music, dress, manners, and many other aspects of culture depending on the success of the Consort in question. Tracing these interactions allows us to show how boundaries which may seem at first to be clearly demarcating a monolithic entity – Nation, Country, National Identity – are actually permeable and porous.

It also allows us to understand that cultural phenomena and political identities or ideologies are hybrid and composite: the transfer of a large volume of cultural practices can have a significant impact on existing norms, leading to the formation of new cultural paradigms, practices and models.

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What is HERA? HERA – Humanities in the European Research Area – is the body which has funded our research. HERA is a partnership between 21 Humanities Research Councils across Europe and the European Science Foundation (ESF), Its objective is to firmly establish the humanities in the European Research Area and in the European Commission Framework Programmes.

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