queen regnant
n., pl. queens regnant.
A queen reigning in her own right.
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The noun has one meaning:
Meaning #1:
a female sovereign ruler
Synonyms: queen, female monarch
A queen regnant (plural "queens regnant") is a female monarch possessing and exercising all of the monarchal powers of a king, in contrast with a queen 'consort', who is the wife of a reigning king, and in and of herself has no official powers of state.
Technically, a king may also be a "king regnant" or a "king consort" — but this distinction is unusual and, for example, has been used only twice in the history of the British and its predecessor monarchies. In all current monarchies that allow for a queen regnant to take the Throne, the husband of such a queen is not titled king, generally ranking as a prince. The husband of Mary I of England and Ireland and the second husband of Mary I, Queen of Scots were both created kings consort of their wives' realms, but they were not liked, and the marriages were short. The husband of Mary II, Queen of England and Ireland, and Queen of Scots, was named king regnant co-sovereign with her, as William III of England, II of Scots, and I of Ireland — but this was the only occasion of co-sovereignty, at least officially. Thereafter, the husbands of queens regnant in Britain have been informally styled princes consort (the formal title "Prince Consort," however, having only been granted to Prince Albert, the husband of Queen Victoria).
Accession of queens regnant occurs as a nation's order of succession permits. Methods of succession (to kingships, tribal chiefships, etc.) include nomination (the sitting monarch or a council names an heir), primogeniture (children of a monarch or chief, in order of birth, eldest to youngest), and ultimogeniture (children in order of birth, youngest to eldest). The scope of succession may be patrilineal, matrilineal or both; or, rarely (usually only when necessary), open to general election. Right of succession by gender may be open to men and women, limited to men only, or limited to women only.
The most typical succession from the Late Middle Ages through to the 20th century was male-preference primogeniture; i.e., the order of succession cycled through the sons of the monarch in order of their birth, followed then by the daughters. Many realms historically forbade succession by women or through a female line, however, in obedience to the Salic law; and some still do.
For example, the King of the Netherlands used to be Grand Duke of Luxembourg. But when the last Dutch king died in 1890 and was succeeded by his daughter, obedience to the Salic law prevented Luxembourg from accepting her as Grand Duchess in her own right. Similarly, when Victoria ascended to the throne of the United Kingdom, she did not also become Queen of Hanover, despite her uncle having been king of both states.
In the waning days of the twentieth century, Sweden, Norway, Belgium, and the Netherlands amended their acts of succession to primogeniture with no preference as to sex. In some cases, the change does not take effect until the generation following the current generations in existence - to avoid dispossessing people who were already in the succession in a particular position.
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![]() | Dictionary. The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2007. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. Read more | |
![]() | WordNet. WordNet 1.7.1 Copyright © 2001 by Princeton University. All rights reserved. Read more | |
![]() | Wikipedia. This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Queen regnant". Read more |
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