Although a royal consort rarely holds any official power, they often wield an impressive
amount of influence. In fact, these husbands and wives of queens and kings have often helped
steer the course of history… and these were the most powerful of all.
Few women better exemplify the Mama Grizzly archetype than the Celtic queen consort Boadicea,
who lived in the first century A.D.
Married to King Prasutagus of the Iceni at the age of 18, Boadicea reigned as queen in
northern Norfolk. The couple had two teenage daughters but no male heir, which helped spur
the Romans into annexing their after the king's death in 60 A.D. As well as seizing the royal
family's property and land, the Roman soldiers publicly flogged the queen and assaulted her
daughters.
After that, the Celtic queen swore vengeance on the Romans. The historian Tacitus recorded
her threat, as:
"Nothing is safe from Roman pride and arrogance. They will deface the sacred and will deflower
our virgins. Win the battle or perish, that is what I, a woman, will do."
True to her word, Boadicea led over 200,000 troops against the Romans, sacking a number
of their cities and displaying the heads of her enemies as chariot trophies. Tacitus claims
that Boadicea's troops massacred both Romans and Brittonic collaborators, with an estimated
death toll of between 70,000 and 80,000. Ultimately, however, Boadicea's war of vengeance was doomed
to failure — she was eventually defeated in battle by the Roman governor Gaius Suetonius
Paulinus and died soon thereafter.
When Emma of Normandy married the Anglo-Saxon monarch Aethelred the Unready in 1002, England
had endured two decades of viking attacks. Despite this ever-encroaching threat, however,
the king and his consort managed to have three children together.
By the first decade of the 11th century, the Scandinavian invasions had picked up in pace.
In 1013, during the invasion of Sweyn Forkbeard, Aethelred, Emma, and the royal children fled
into exile. After Sweyn's sudden death in 1014, his son, Cnut the Great, succeeded him
— and by 1016 had successfully consolidated his rule over England.
How Cnut and Emma went from enemies to lovers may never be known, but we do know that they
were married by 1017. According to contemporary sources, their unlikely union blossomed into
one of mutual respect and even affection. After 1020, court documents even begin to
bear Emma's name, suggesting she took on an active political role as Cnut's queen consort.
What's more, two of Emma's children would go on to rule England: her son with Cnut,
Harthacnut of Denmark, followed by her son with Aethelred, Edward the Confessor.
Few medieval royals enjoyed as much affluence and influence as Eleanor of Aquitaine. Her
court at Poitiers in the 12th century proved instrumental in preserving both the romantic
Arthurian legends and the ideals of courtly love. But her story began decades earlier
with the death of her father, the duke of Aquitaine, and her inheritance of one-third
of France.
As the newly minted duchess of Aquitaine, Eleanor spent some time as Europe's most in-demand
bachelorette, before the land-poor king of France arranged her marriage to his son, Louis
VII. Following the king's death, Louis and Eleanor reigned as king and royal consort
of France from 1137 to 1152.
Among Eleanor's many notable achievements was her contribution to the Second Crusade.
She pledged thousands of vassals to the war effort and rode through the streets of Vézelay
armored as an Amazon, urging her people to take up the cross. She even led 300 ladies-in-waiting
to the Holy Land, inspiring such ire from the church that it inspired a future ban on
women participating in the crusades.
Unfortunately for Eleanor, the Second Crusade failed, shortly followed by her marriage to
Louis. After securing an annulment, she fled to England to marry Henry, Duke of Normany,
who became King Henry II of England just a few years later. Three of Eleanor's children
with Henry were crowned king of England at some point or another, and Eleanor herself
outlived her husband by fifteen years.
The popular memory of Isabella of France has been muddied a little by her inaccurate portrayal
in the 1995 movie Braveheart.
"I have come to beg for the life of William Wallace."
Beyond her French origins and marriage to Edward II of England, little in the movie
bears any relation to her real life.
She never met her father-in-law, Edward I, who passed away in 1307. And she certainly
had no extramarital relations with William Wallace. Heck, she didn't even arrive in England
until February 1308, long after Wallace's execution. By all accounts, her marriage to
Edward II was actually a happy one, too… for a while, at least.
Everything changed for Isabella in the 1320s, when a nobleman named Hugh Despenser the Younger
came onto the scene, currying Edward's favor and quickly diminishing Isabella's influence
at court. In retaliation, the so-called "she-wolf of France'' rallied an army and invaded England.
There, she seized power for herself and had Despenser hanged, drawn, and quartered.
Isabella then forced her husband to abdicate the throne to their 14-year-old son, who became
Edward III. Because Edward hadn't come of age, however, Isabella ruled as queen regent
in his stead. Edward II's ultimate fate is a mystery, but most historians assume that
he was killed on Isabella's orders.
Many people think of Catherine of Aragon as little more than the jilted first wife of
King Henry VIII. But the truth is she represented a powerful political force in her own right,
drawing on influential family ties and connections to bolster her position. The first female
ambassador in European history, Catherine advised Henry VIII on a number of political
matters, and even served as regent for six months while he was off warring in France.
Henry VIII eventually claimed that Catherine was incapable of producing a male heir — but
historical sources indicate she conceived at least six times during the first decade
of their marriage, including two miscarriages and a stillborn daughter. Of the three live
births, only their daughter, the future Mary I, survived into adulthood. Mary, as the heir
presumptive, represented a serious problem for England. No precedent yet existed for
a female monarch, so Henry VIII appealed to the pope for an annulment. He hoped that,
if he married his mistress, Anne Boleyn, she might bear him a boy instead.
Catherine argued persuasively against the annulment during the divorce proceedings.
Ultimately, the pope ruled in her favor, forcing the king to kick-start the English Reformation
and split his kingdom's church from the Vatican. Meanwhile, Catherine continued to retain the
esteem of the English people — including her nemesis Thomas Cromwell, who wrote of
her:
"But for her sex, she would have surpassed all the heroes of History."
The Dutch nobleman, William of Orange, married his 15-year-old first cousin Mary II of England
in 1677. Five years earlier, he had risen to prominence as a Protestant hero who resisted
the French occupation of the Netherlands, securing the position of Stadtholder of Holland.
Then, in June 1688, a group of Protestant English politicians known as the "Immortal
Seven" asked William to overthrow his Catholic uncle, King James II of England. In November,
William successfully landed in England, leading a multi-national army to overthrow Mary's
father. Much of James II's army deserted for William's side, contributing to a decisive
yet bloodless victory.
After this so-called "Glorious Revolution," Mary II took the throne and then installed
William as joint monarch, often deferring ruling matters to him. William of Orange went
on to prove himself an excellent military leader, deftly outmaneuvering his number one
enemy, France's King Louis XIV.
In 1694, Mary II died suddenly from smallpox. Despite an early lack of affection in their
marriage, the couple had warmed to each other over the years, and William proved inconsolable
after her loss. He never remarried, spending the remainder of his days as the kingdom's
sole ruler.
Most historians agree that Caroline of Ansbach was one of the most influential royal spouses
in history. She enjoyed incredible sway as an advisor to both her husband, King George
II, and Britain's prime minister, Sir Robert Walpole.
A descendant of the House of Hohenzollern, Caroline lost her parents young, reverting
to the guardianship of King Frederick I and Queen Sophia Charlotte of Prussia — who
gave her a prestigious liberal education.
Later in life, Queen Caroline became an avid lover of arts and history, and so surrounded
herself with distinguished thinkers — including the French philosopher, Voltaire. She soon
became an advocate for freedom of speech and freedom of the press, and even publicly called
for compassion towards the rebellious Scottish Jacobites. The Regency Act of 1728 made her
regent in place of her son, Frederick, during George II's frequent absences. It was during
this time that Caroline arguably wielded the most influence of all, having her say on some
of the most pressing political topics of the day — including taxation, foreign affairs,
and the arts.
Clearly the better half to the supposedly "mad" King George III, Queen Charlotte generally
stayed out of political matters — despite exercising considerable influence over her
husband. After their wedding at St. James Palace, the happy couple settled into married
life, producing 15 children, 13 of which survived into adulthood.
In 1762, the family moved to Buckingham House, which later became known as Buckingham Palace.
The royal couple loved fine music, even keeping Johann Christian, son of famed composer Johann
Sebastian Bach, on their payroll. They also received a visit from the musical prodigy
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, who was just 8 years old at the time.
Charlotte also dabbled in amateur botany, taking a keen interest in Kew Gardens — which
even today boasts the most significant collection of flora in the world. On top of all that,
she also became the patron of the General Lying-In Hospital, later renamed Queen Charlotte's
Hospital in her honor, and established a handful of orphanages to help meet the needs of the
community.
Prince Albert and Queen Victoria's passionate marriage was the stuff of romance novels — but
aside from being hopelessly in love, Albert also exercised tremendous influence over both
his queen and the British Empire. On the humanitarian front, he pushed for reforms, including the
abolition of child labor, and the abolition of slavery. He also worked to end dueling
between Army officers.
By the end of 1840, Prince Albert was acting as private secretary to the queen. He encouraged
her to move away from the Whig party, taking a more apolitical approach to the monarchy
than her predecessors. But his most significant areas of influence remained science, education,
and the arts.
After his 1847 election as chancellor of Cambridge University, Albert devoted himself to improving
the institution's curriculum, and also founded the first London-based institution dedicated
to scientific research, today known as Imperial College London. Unfortunately, the prince's
busy schedule led to a number of health issues. After contracting typhoid fever in 1861, he
passed away at the age of 42 — and Victoria remained in mourning for the rest of her life.
During her lifetime, the Queen Mother, Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon, ranked as one of the most popular
of all the royals. Devoted to the concept of the monarchy, she helped the royal family
weather many storms, including the abdication that put her husband, King George VI, on the
throne. In the process, she became the first British-born queen consort since the House
of Tudor.
Elizabeth represented a source of strength for her husband throughout his reign. She
assisted in transforming him from a shy, insecure, stammering man into a confident, well-spoken
ruler. She also endured the horrors of World War II with grace — including the bombing
of Buckingham Palace. Despite suggestions that she and the children should evacuate,
Elizabeth refused, saying:
"The children won't go without me. I won't leave the King. And the King will never leave."
In the years after the war, Elizabeth remained a much-beloved presence in the royal family
— right up until her death in 2002, at the age of 101.
"It was the warmth and affection of people everywhere which inspired her resolve, dedication,
and enthusiasm for life."
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