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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 if the more usual designation of queen consort 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 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 two princess consorts: one the wife of a reigning sovereign king and the other the wife of a reigning sovereign prince.

United Kingdom

In 2005, Clarence House announced that, when Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall's husband Charles, Prince of Wales acceded to the throne of the United Kingdom, she would not use the legal style of queen consort. She intended to use the style of "princess consort", even though her husband would not be a sovereign prince but a sovereign king.[1][2] Such a title has no historical precedent; under English common law, wives of kings automatically become queens.[3][4][5] This was the case with all other women married to British kings—with the exception of queens co-reigning with their husbands.[note 1] In 2018, Clarence House removed the statement from its website, suggesting that Camilla would be styled as queen consort upon her husband's accession.[6] 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.[7] In her 2022 Accession Day message, published to mark the 70th anniversary of her reign, Elizabeth II stated that it was her "sincere wish" for Camilla to be known as queen consort upon Charles's accession to the throne.[8] Upon Charles's accession to the throne in September 2022, Camilla assumed the title of Queen Consort.[9][10]

Morocco

The former consort of King Mohammed VI of Morocco, Princess Lalla Salma, was styled as HRH the Princess Consort, the first Moroccan royal consort to receive any title.

Belgium

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

Current princesses consort

Picture Name Country Became consort Spouse
Sabika  Bahrain 14 February 2002 Hamad, King of Bahrain
Charlene  Monaco 1 July 2011 Albert II, Prince of Monaco
Fahda  Saudi Arabia 23 January 2015 Salman, King of Saudi Arabia

Notes and references

Notes

  1. ^ Upon Queen Mary I's marriage to Philip II of Spain, an Act of Parliament made him joint sovereign for its duration. Mary II was crowned sovereign jointly with William III & II.

References

  1. ^ "The Prince of Wales". The British Monarchy. Archived from the original on 7 March 2015. Retrieved 21 April 2016. After the wedding, Mrs Parker Bowles became known as HRH The Duchess of Cornwall. When The Prince of Wales accedes to the throne, she will be known as HRH The Princess Consort.
  2. ^ "Clarence House press release". Clarence House. 10 February 2005. Archived from the original on 24 June 2014. Retrieved 6 April 2018.
  3. ^ "What Camilla's Title Will Be When Prince Charles Becomes King". Harper's Bazaar. 3 November 2018. Retrieved 2 January 2019.
  4. ^ "Camilla can legally be queen". CBC News. Retrieved 24 May 2009. ((cite journal)): Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  5. ^ "Camilla might still become Queen". The Times. UK. Retrieved 24 May 2009.
  6. ^ Furness, Hannah (10 March 2018). "Could Camilla become Queen after all? Clarence House quietly removes statement about Duchess of Cornwall's future role". The Telegraph. Archived from the original on 10 January 2022. Retrieved 6 April 2018.
  7. ^ Sewell, Katie; Bacquart, Charlotte (8 April 2021). "Why Camilla will not be queen when Prince Charles becomes king". The Cornishman. Retrieved 14 April 2021.
  8. ^ Coughlan, Sean (5 February 2022). "Queen wants Camilla to be known as Queen Consort". BBC. Retrieved 5 February 2022.
  9. ^ "Queen Elizabeth II has died". BBC News. 8 September 2022. Archived from the original on 8 September 2022. Retrieved 8 September 2022.
  10. ^ "The Queen Consort". The Royal Family. 8 September 2022. Archived from the original on 8 September 2022. Retrieved 8 September 2022.
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