Princess consort is an official title or an informal designation that is normally accorded to the wife of a sovereign prince. The title may be used for the wife of a

king King is a royal title given to a male monarch. A king is an Absolute monarchy, absolute monarch if he holds unrestricted Government, governmental power or exercises full sovereignty over a nation. Conversely, he is a Constitutional monarchy, ...

if the more usual designation of

queen consort A queen consort is the wife of a reigning king, and usually shares her spouse's social Imperial, royal and noble ranks, rank and status. She holds the feminine equivalent of the king's monarchical titles and may be crowned and anointed, but hi ...

is not used. More informally, it may even be used to describe the family position of any woman who marries royalty non-morganatically, if the rank she derives from that marriage is at least that of a princess (e.g.,

Grace Kelly Grace Patricia Kelly (November 12, 1929 – September 14, 1982), also known as Grace of Monaco, was an American actress and Princess of Monaco as the wife of Prince Rainier III from their marriage on April 18, 1956, until her death in 1982. ...

was ''Princess Consort'' during marriage, whereas Liliane Baels and Countess Juliana von Hauke are not usually so described). The "consort" part is often dropped when speaking or writing of a princess consort, and the term is only capitalized when the title is borne officially. Currently, there are three princesses consort, one of whom is the wife of a reigning sovereign prince, with the other two being wives of reigning sovereign kings.

Belgium

Mary Lilian Baels was the consort of the King of Belgium, but used the title of princess instead of queen.

United Kingdom

In 2005, ahead of the

marriage Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...

Charles, Prince of Wales Charles III (Charles Philip Arthur George; born 14 November 1948) is King of the United Kingdom and the 14 other Commonwealth realms. Charles was born at Buckingham Palace during the reign of his maternal grandfather, King George VI, a ...

and Camilla Parker Bowles,

Clarence House Clarence House is a royal residence on The Mall in the City of Westminster, London. It was built in 1825–1827, adjacent to St James's Palace, for the royal Duke of Clarence, the future King William IV. The four-storey house is faced in ...

announced that on her husband's accession to the throne of the United Kingdom, Camilla would not use the legal style of

. She intended to use the style of "princess consort", even though her husband would not be a sovereign prince but a sovereign king. Such a title has no historical precedent; under

English common law English law is the common law legal system of England and Wales, comprising mainly criminal law and civil law, each branch having its own courts and procedures. The judiciary is independent, and legal principles like fairness, equality bef ...

, wives of kings automatically become queens. This was the case with all other women married to British kings—with the exception of queens co-reigning with their husbands. In 2018, Clarence House removed the statement from its website, suggesting that Camilla would be styled as queen consort upon her husband's accession. In 2020, however, Clarence House released another statement announcing that, as established at the time of the marriage, upon the accession of the Prince of Wales, Camilla would assume the title of "princess consort" with the style HRH. In her 2022

Accession Day An accession day is usually the anniversary of the date on which a monarch or executive takes office. The earliest records of accession celebrations date from the reign of Emperor Kanmu of Japan (), and the custom is now observed in many nations ...

message, published to mark the 70th anniversary of her reign,

Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 19268 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. ...

stated that it was her "sincere wish" for Camilla to be known as queen consort upon Charles's accession to the throne. Upon Charles's accession to the throne in September 2022, Camilla assumed the position of queen consort.

Belgium

United Kingdom

Current princesses consort

Notes and references

Notes

References