Royal Noble Consort Ahn of the Gyeongju Yi clan (Hangul: 안빈 이씨, Hanja: 安嬪李氏; September 1622 – October 1693) was a Korean Royal Consort and the spouse of King

Hyojong of Joseon Hyojong of Joseon (3 July 1619 – 23 June 1659) was the seventeenth king of the Joseon Dynasty of Korea from 1649 to 1659. He is best known for his plan for an expedition to the Manchu Qing dynasty, and his campaigns against the Russian Empire a ...

Biography

Lady Yi was born in September 1622, lunar calendar, (14th year reign of

Gwanghaegun of Joseon Gwanghae-gun or Prince Gwanghae (4 June 1575 – 7 August 1641), personal name Yi Hon (Hangul: 이혼, Hanja: 李琿), was the 15th ruler of the Joseon Dynasty of Korea. As he was deposed in a coup d'état, he did not receive a temple name. ...

) as the daughter of Yi Eung-heon from the Gyeongju Yi clan. She became Hyojong's concubine when he was still ''Grand Prince Bongrim'' (봉림대군). When the Qing Invasion happened in 1636, Lady Yi, along with Princess Consort Pungan (the future

Queen Inseon Queen Inseon (Hangul: 인선왕후 장씨, Hanja: 仁宣王后張氏; 9 February 1619 – 19 March 1674), of the Deoksu Jang clan, was a posthumous name bestowed to the wife and queen consort of Yi Ho, King Hyojong. She was queen consort of Jos ...

), followed Grand Prince Bongrim to

Shenyang Shenyang (, ; ; Mandarin pronunciation: ), formerly known as Fengtian () or by its Manchu language, Manchu name Mukden, is a major China, Chinese sub-provincial city and the List of capitals in China#Province capitals, provincial capital of Lia ...

and assisted him as they went to China as hostages of the Qing Dynasty. After her death, King Sukjong, King Hyojong’s and Queen Inseon’s grandson, highly respected and honored Lady Yi for this act, and had her ancestral rights performed through his successors. In 1649, Lady Yi gave birth to a daughter whom was given the title ''Princess Suknyeong'' (숙녕옹주, 淑寧翁主). Her daughter was known to be cherished by her father and her legal mother, Queen Inseon. There was an occasion in which the King and the Queen were giving gifts to their children. The King gave gifts only to the princesses as he was conscious of how the Queen would react without giving any present to the concubine's daughter. But the Queen, who was worried about excluding Lady Yi’s only daughter from her husband, personally called

Princess Suknyeong Princess Suknyeong (Hangul: 숙녕옹주, Hanja: 淑寧翁主; 1649 — 1666 or 1668) was a Korean Joseon Dynasty Princess, and the only daughter of King Hyojong of Joseon and Royal Noble Consort An. Biography Early life The Princess was b ...

with a gift. There was a time when Lady Yi caused a great stir after calling her daughter, Princess Suknyeong, "you". At that time, it was customary for royal concubines to avoid using informal speech to the king's children, even if she was their biological mother since princes and princesses of blood were in higher rank than a royal concubine. When this became known, the King tried to punish the royal consort, but the Queen adamantly persuaded the King to let it pass. In this manner, it showed that the Queen truly cared for the royal consort and her subordinates. In 1661, Lady Yi became Royal Consort ''Suk-ui'' (rank junior 2; 숙의, 淑儀), and was then promoted to ''So-ui'' (rank senior 2; 소의, 昭儀). Her 13-year-old daughter married in 1662 to a son from the Bannam Park clan, and the couple eventually had a daughter in 1667. In 1666 or 1668, the royal consort’s daughter died; leaving her to outlive her 27 or 29 years. Royal Consort So-ui was later promoted as Royal Consort ''Gwi-in'' (rank junior 1; 귀인, 貴人) in 1686. After that, Yi became Royal Noble Consort ''Ahn'' (rank senior 1; 안빈, 安嬪). In October 1698 (19th year reign of

Sukjong of Joseon Sukjong of Joseon (7 October 1661 – 12 July 1720) was the 19th King of the Joseon Dynasty of Korea, ruling from 1674 until 1720. A skilled legislator, he caused multiple changes in political power throughout his reign, by switching among the ...

), the royal consort died at the age of 72 years old. Her tomb was located in Songreung-ri, Jingeon-eup,

Namyangju-si Namyangju () is a city in Gyeonggi Province, South Korea. To the east is Gapyeong County, to the west is Guri City, and to the north is Pocheon City. Namyangju-si was originally a southern part of Yangju-gun, but was separated into Namyangju-gun ...

Gyeonggi-do Gyeonggi-do (, ) is the most populous province in South Korea. Its name, ''Gyeonggi'', means "京 (the capital) and 畿 (the surrounding area)". Thus, ''Gyeonggi-do'' can be translated as "Seoul and the surrounding areas of Seoul". Seoul, the na ...

. Then, her tomb became historical site no. 366 on 25 October 1991.

Family

* Father - Yi Eung-heon (이응헌, 李應憲) * Husband - Yi Ho, King Hyojong of Joseon (효종 조선) (3 July 1619 - 23 June 1659) ** Mother-in-law -

Queen Inyeol Queen or QUEEN may refer to: Monarchy * Queen regnant, a female monarch of a Kingdom ** List of queens regnant * Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king * Queen dowager, the widow of a king * Queen mother, a queen dowager who is the mother ...

of the

Cheongju Han clan The Cheongju Han clan (Hangul: 청주 한씨, Hanja: 淸州韓氏) is a Korean noble family. It is also called the House of Han or the Han clan of Cheongju. It is considered one of the most prominent clans since the Gojoseon period. In the Sil ...

(인열왕후 한씨) (16 May 1594 - 16 January 1636) ** Father-in-law - Yi Jung, King Injo of Joseon (인조 조선) (7 December 1595 - 17 June 1649) * Issue ** Daughter -

(숙녕옹주) (1649 — 1666/1668) *** Son-in-law - Park Pil-seong, Prince Consort Geumpyeong (1652 - 1747) (박필성 금평위) **** Granddaughter - Park Hui-gyeong, Lady Park of the Bannam Park clan (1667 - ?) (박희경, 朴喜慶) ***** Grandson-in-law - Yi Su-cheol (이수철, 李秀喆)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Yi, An-bin 1622 births 1693 deaths 17th-century Korean people Royal consorts of the Joseon dynasty