View source for Princess consort

{{Short description|Wife of a reigning prince or king}}
{{use dmy dates|date=January 2024}}
{{Royal and noble ranks}}
'''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 [[morganatic marriage|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 [[Lilian, Princess of Réthy|Liliane Baels]] and [[Julia Hauke|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 [[Wedding of Prince Charles and Camilla Parker Bowles|marriage]] of [[Charles III|Charles, Prince of Wales]] and [[Camilla Parker Bowles]], [[Clarence House]] announced that on her husband's accession to the throne of the United Kingdom, Camilla 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.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.royal.gov.uk/ThecurrentRoyalFamily/ThePrinceofWales/ThePrinceofWales.aspx|title=The Prince of Wales|website=The British Monarchy|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150307053208/http://www.royal.gov.uk/ThecurrentRoyalFamily/ThePrinceofWales/ThePrinceofWales.aspx|archive-date=7 March 2015|access-date=21 April 2016|quote=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.}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.princeofwales.gov.uk/media/press-releases/announcement-of-the-marriage-of-hrh-the-prince-of-wales-and-mrs-camilla-parker|title=Clarence House press release|date=10 February 2005|access-date=6 April 2018|publisher=Clarence House|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140624012434/http://www.princeofwales.gov.uk/media/press-releases/announcement-of-the-marriage-of-hrh-the-prince-of-wales-and-mrs-camilla-parker|archive-date=24 June 2014}}</ref> Such a title has no historical precedent; under [[English common law]], wives of kings automatically become queens.<ref>{{cite web|date=3 November 2018|title=What Camilla's Title Will Be When Prince Charles Becomes King|url=https://www.harpersbazaar.com/celebrity/latest/a24594447/when-prince-charles-becomes-king-camilla-queen-consort/|access-date=2 January 2019|website=Harper's Bazaar}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|title=Camilla can legally be queen|url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/camilla-can-legally-be-queen-u-k-minister-1.529907|publisher=CBC News|access-date=24 May 2009}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|title=Camilla might still become Queen|url=https://www.thetimes.com/travel/destinations/uk-travel/camilla-might-still-become-queen-lt6w8fq739b|journal=The Times|location=UK|access-date=24 May 2009}}</ref> This was the case with all other women married to British kings—with the exception of queens co-reigning with their husbands.{{NoteTag|Upon Queen [[Mary I]]'s marriage to [[Philip II of Spain]], an [[Act for the Marriage of Queen Mary to Philip of Spain|Act of Parliament]] made him joint sovereign for its duration. [[Mary II]] was crowned sovereign jointly with [[William III & II]].}} In 2018, Clarence House removed the statement from its website, suggesting that Camilla would be styled as queen consort upon her husband's accession.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Furness|first1=Hannah|date=10 March 2018|title=Could Camilla become Queen after all? Clarence House quietly removes statement about Duchess of Cornwall's future role|work=The Telegraph|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2018/03/10/could-camilla-become-queen-clarence-house-quietly-removes-statement/ |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220110/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2018/03/10/could-camilla-become-queen-clarence-house-quietly-removes-statement/ |archive-date=10 January 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|access-date=6 April 2018}}{{cbignore}}</ref> 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]].<ref>{{cite news|last1=Sewell|first1=Katie|last2=Bacquart|first2=Charlotte|date=8 April 2021|title=Why Camilla will not be queen when Prince Charles becomes king|work=The Cornishman|url=https://www.cornwalllive.com/news/uk-world-news/camilla-not-queen-prince-charles-5275537|access-date=14 April 2021}}</ref> In her 2022 [[Accession day#United Kingdom|Accession Day]] message, published to mark the [[Platinum Jubilee of Elizabeth II|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.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-60274816|title=Queen wants Camilla to be known as Queen Consort|work=BBC|first=Sean|last=Coughlan|date=5 February 2022|accessdate=5 February 2022}}</ref> Upon Charles's accession to the throne in September 2022, Camilla assumed the position of queen consort.<ref>{{cite news |date=8 September 2022 |title=Queen Elizabeth II has died |work=BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-61585886 |url-status=live |access-date=8 September 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220908173314/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-61585886 |archive-date=8 September 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.royal.uk/queen-consort |title=The Queen Consort|website=The Royal Family|date=8 September 2022 |access-date=8 September 2022|archive-date=8 September 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220908215529/https://www.royal.uk/queen-consort|url-status=live}}</ref>

==Current princesses consort==
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Picture !! Name !! Country !! Became consort || Spouse
|-
| [[File:Sabika bint Ibrahim Al Khalifa, Bahrain TV - Jan 15, 2019.jpg|100px]] || '''[[Sabika bint Ibrahim Al Khalifa|Sabika]]''' || {{flag|Bahrain}} || 14 February 2002 || [[Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa|Hamad, King of Bahrain]]
|-
| [[File:Charlene, Princess of Monaco-2.jpg|100px]] || '''[[Charlene, Princess of Monaco|Charlene]]''' || {{flag|Monaco}} || 1 July 2011 || [[Albert II, Prince of Monaco]]
|-
| [[File:Emblem of Saudi Arabia.svg|100px]] || '''[[Fahda bint Falah Al Hithlain|Fahda]]''' || {{flag|Saudi Arabia}} || 23 January 2015 || [[Salman of Saudi Arabia|Salman, King of Saudi Arabia]]
|}

==Notes and references==

=== Notes ===
{{NoteFoot}}

=== References ===
{{Reflist}}

[[Category:Princesses consort| ]]
[[Category:Royal consorts|*]]
[[Category:Monarchy of the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:Monarchy of Canada]]