# List of British royal consorts

A royal consort is the spouse of a reigning monarch. Consorts of British monarchs have no constitutional status or power but many have had significant influence, and support the sovereign in their duties. There have been 11 royal consorts since the Acts of Union in 1707, eight women and three men.
Prince Philip, the husband of Queen Elizabeth II, is the longest-serving consort, whilst his mother-in-law Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother is the longest-lived consort. Since the accession of Charles III on 8 September 2022, his wife Camilla has held the position of queen consort.

## History

Since the union of England and Scotland in 1707, there have been eleven consorts of the British monarch. Queens between 1727 and 1814 were also Electresses of Hanover, as their husbands all held the title of Elector of Hanover. Between 1814 and 1837, queens held the title as Queen of Hanover, as their husbands were kings of Hanover. The personal union with the United Kingdom ended in 1837 on the accession of Queen Victoria because the succession laws (Salic Law) in Hanover prevented a female inheriting the title if there was any surviving male heir (in the United Kingdom, a male took precedence over only his own sisters, until the Succession to the Crown Act 2013 which removed male primogeniture). In the Austro-Prussian War of 1866, Hanover was annexed by Prussia and became the Province of Hanover.
Not all wives of monarchs have become consorts, as they may have died, been divorced before their husbands' acceding to the throne, or married after abdication. Such cases include Princess Sophia Dorothea of Celle, wife of George, Hereditary Prince of Brunswick-Lüneburg (later King George I); Wallis Warfield, wife of Prince Edward, Duke of Windsor (the former King Edward VIII); and Lady Diana Spencer, wife of Charles, Prince of Wales (later King Charles III).
Only George I and Edward VIII were unmarried throughout their reigns.
Since 1937, the sovereign's consort and the first four individuals in the line of succession who are over 21 may be appointed counsellors of state. Counsellors of state perform some of the sovereign's duties in the United Kingdom while the sovereign is out of the country or temporarily incapacitated.

## Style
### Female consorts

The wife of the reigning king as his consort is styled as "Her Majesty The Queen" during her husband's reign and "Her Majesty Queen [first name]" upon her husband's death. The Queen is referred to as "Her Majesty" and addressed as "Your Majesty". Since her coronation in 2023, the current royal consort, Queen Camilla, has also been styled as "Her Majesty The Queen" per tradition. Camilla was styled as "Her Majesty The Queen Consort" preceding the coronation to distinguish her from her then recently deceased mother-in-law, Queen Elizabeth II, who as a queen regnant was also styled as "Her Majesty The Queen".

### Male consorts

The husband of a reigning queen does not share the regal title and style of his wife, and the three men who served as consort held various titles. The title of "Prince Consort" has only been held by Queen Victoria's husband Prince Albert.
* Prince George of Denmark, husband of Queen Anne, never received an official style as the consort, his princely title being Danish, but was raised to the peerage of England as the Duke of Cumberland in 1689, several years before his wife's accession in 1702.
* Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, husband of Queen Victoria, did not take a British peerage title but was granted the title of Prince Consort as a distinct title in 1857, the only male consort of the United Kingdom or its predecessor realms to have held the title. Victoria wished to style him as King Consort, but the government would not allow it.
* Prince Philip of Greece and Denmark, husband of Queen Elizabeth II, was raised to the peerage as Duke of Edinburgh in 1947, five years before his wife's accession, and was made a prince of the United Kingdom in 1957.

## Coronation

Queens consort participate in the coronation ceremony, undertaking many of the same ceremonies as the monarch. Queens traditionally wear elaborate robes and walk in the procession under a canopy. They have also been anointed with holy oil and been crowned. Traditionally, male consorts are not crowned or anointed during the coronation ceremony.
An unusual case was Caroline of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel, who had separated from her husband, George IV, before his accession, became queen consort by law but had no position at court and was forcibly barred from attending his coronation and being crowned.

### Regalia

The earliest surviving consort's crown is that created in 1685 for Mary of Modena. In the early-20th century, new crowns were created for each queen consort in turn. However, Queen Camilla did not have a new crown created for her coronation in 2023 and she was crowned using the 1911 Crown of Queen Mary.
The Queen Consort's Ring was first created for the coronation of Queen Adelaide in 1831, and has been used by queens consort ever since.
The Queen Consort's Rod with Dove represents 'equity and mercy' and the dove, with its folded wings, is symbolic of the Holy Ghost. The Queen Consort's Sceptre with Cross, originally made for the coronation of Mary of Modena in 1685, is inlaid with rock crystals.

## List of consorts

| Name | Birth | Marriage | Became consort | Coronation | Ceased to be consort | Death | Grave site | Tenure | Spouse |
| George of Denmark and Norway | 2 April 1653Son of Frederick III of Denmark and Norway and Sophie Amalie of Brunswick-Calenberg | 28 July 1683 | 1 May 1707 Creation of the Kingdom of Great Britain; became consort to the monarch of England and Scotland upon spouse's accession 8 March 1702 | Not crowned | 28 October 1708 55 years, 209 days | 28 October 1708 55 years, 209 days | Westminster Abbey | 1 year, 180 days | Anne |
| Wilhelmina Charlotte Caroline of Brandenburg-Ansbach | 1 March 1683Daughter of John Frederick, Margrave of Brandenburg-Ansbach and Eleonore Erdmuthe of Saxe-Eisenach | 22 August 1705 | 11 June 1727 Spouse's accession | 11 October 1727 | 20 November 1737 54 years, 172 days | 20 November 1737 54 years, 172 days | Westminster Abbey | 10 years, 162 days | George II |
| Sophia Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz | 19 May 1744Daughter of Duke Charles Louis Frederick of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, Prince of Mirow and Elisabeth Albertine of Saxe-Hildburghausen | 8 September 1761 Marriage to the monarch | 8 September 1761 Marriage to the monarch | 22 September 1761 | 17 November 1818 74 years, 126 days | 17 November 1818 74 years, 126 days | St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle | 57 years, 70 days | George III |
| Caroline Amelia Elizabeth of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel | 17 May 1768Daughter of Charles William Ferdinand, Duke of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel and Augusta of Great Britain | 8 April 1795 | 29 January 1820 Spouse's accession | Not crowned | 7 August 1821 53 years, 72 days | 7 August 1821 53 years, 72 days | Brunswick Cathedral | 1 year, 190 days | George IV |
| Adelaide Amelia Louise Theresa Caroline of Saxe-Meiningen | 13 August 1792Daughter of Georg I, Duke of Saxe-Meiningen and Louise Eleanore of Hohenlohe-Langenburg | 13 July 1818 | 26 June 1830 Spouse's accession | 8 September 1831 | 20 June 1837 Spouse's death | 2 December 1849 56 years, 311 days | St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle | 6 years, 359 days | William IV |
| Francis Augustus Charles Albert Emmanuel of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha | 26 August 1819Son of Ernest I, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha and Louise of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg | 10 February 1840 Marriage to the monarch | 10 February 1840 Marriage to the monarch | Not crowned | 14 December 1861 42 years, 110 days | 14 December 1861 42 years, 110 days | St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle, then Frogmore Royal Mausoleum | 21 years, 307 days | Victoria |
| Alexandra Caroline Marie Charlotte Louise Julia of Denmark | 1 December 1844Daughter of Christian IX of Denmark and Louise of Hesse-Kassel | 10 March 1863 | 22 January 1901 Spouse's accession | 9 August 1902 | 6 May 1910 Spouse's death | 20 November 1925 80 years, 354 days | St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle | 9 years, 104 days | Edward VII |
| Victoria Mary Augusta Louise Olga Pauline Claudine Agnes of Teck | 26 May 1867Daughter of Francis, Duke of Teck and Princess Mary Adelaide of Cambridge | 6 July 1893 | 6 May 1910 Spouse's accession | 22 June 1911 | 20 January 1936 Spouse's death | 24 March 1953 85 years, 302 days | St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle | 25 years, 259 days | George V |
| Elizabeth Angela Marguerite Bowes-Lyon | 4 August 1900Daughter of Claude Bowes-Lyon, 14th Earl of Strathmore and Kinghorne and Cecilia Cavendish-Bentinck | 26 April 1923 | 11 December 1936 Spouse's accession | 12 May 1937 | 6 February 1952 Spouse's death | 30 March 2002 101 years, 238 days | St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle | 15 years, 57 days | George VI |
| Philip of Greece and Denmark | 10 June 1921Son of Prince Andrew of Greece and Denmark and Princess Alice of Battenberg | 20 November 1947 | 6 February 1952 Spouse's accession | Not crowned | 9 April 2021 99 years, 303 days | 9 April 2021 99 years, 303 days | St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle | 69 years, 62 days | Elizabeth II |
| Camilla Rosemary Shand | 17 July 1947Daughter of Bruce Shand and The Honourable Rosalind Cubitt | 9 April 2005 | 8 September 2022 Spouse's accession | 6 May 2023 | Incumbent Age: 77 years, 227 days | Incumbent Age: 77 years, 227 days | Living | 2 years, 175 days | Charles III |