Abstract
The Hanoverian, Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, and Windsor consorts were married to reigning sovereigns during the development and evolution of the constitutional monarchy, and their position was shaped by two pieces of parliamentary legislation passed more than two hundred years apart. Both the Act of Settlement (1701) and the Succession to the Crown Act (2013) were primarily concerned with succession to the throne, but the historical context for each act, and the specific clauses concerning the marriages of people in the line of succession, defined the ideal royal consort from the eighteenth century to the twenty-first century. Royal consorts were, and remain, a focus of popular scrutiny, and their marriages, family lives, and public image intersected with broader debates concerning religion, philanthropy, gender roles, Britain’s place in the world, and press coverage of public figures.
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Notes
- 1.
Edward Gregg, Queen Anne (New Haven: Yale University Press, 2001), 113.
- 2.
Statutes of the Realm: Volume 7, 1695–1701, ed. John Raithby (London, 1820), 636–638.
- 3.
The United Kingdom parliament website notes that there were “over 50 Catholic claimants.” See: UK Parliament, “1701 Act of Settlement,” accessed 25 September 2021, https://www.parliament.uk/about/living-heritage/evolutionofparliament/parliamentaryauthority/revolution/collections1/parliamentary-collections/act-of-settlement/.
- 4.
James Anderson Winn, Queen Anne: Patroness of Arts (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2014), 263.
- 5.
For more about George III’s objections to the marriages of his brothers, see: Stella Tillyard, A Royal Affair: George III and His Scandalous Siblings (New York: Random House, 2006).
- 6.
See: House of Commons Political and Constitutional Reform Committee, “Rules of Royal Succession: Eleventh Report of Session 2010–2012,” accessed 25 September 2021, https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201012/cmselect/cmpolcon/1615/1615.pdf.
- 7.
Philip Murphy, Monarchy and the End of Empire: The House of Windsor, the British Government and the Postwar Commonwealth (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2013), 193.
- 8.
“A Speech by the Queen to Open the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting,” accessed 25 September 2021, https://www.royal.uk/speech-opening-commonwealth-heads-government-meeting-28-october-2011.
- 9.
For an example, see: Laura Smith-Spark, “Girls Given Equal Rights to British Throne under Law Changes,” CNN, 28 October 2011, https://www.cnn.com/2011/10/28/world/europe/uk-monarchy/index.html.
- 10.
“Succession to the Crown Act 2013,” https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2013/20/section/3.
- 11.
“New Rules on Royal Succession Come into Force,” BBC, 26 March 2015, https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-32073399.
- 12.
“A Right Royal Scandal that Spawned Britain’s Popular Press,” The Economist, 23 December 2006, https://www.economist.com/special-report/2006/12/19/a-right-royal-scandal.
- 13.
Connie Jeffrey, “The Royal Scandal That Helped Change British Politics: The 1820 Queen Caroline Affair,” The History of Parliament, accessed 26 September 2021, https://thehistoryofparliament.wordpress.com/2020/06/17/the-royal-scandal-that-helped-change-british-politics-the-1820-queen-caroline-affair/.
- 14.
In 1932, Elizabeth, then Duchess of York, wrote, “I think it is a crime for women to take jobs that men can do as well.” William Shawcross, The Queen Mother: The Official Biography (London: Macmillan, 2009), 331. In contrast, Elizabeth, as queen consort, made a radio broadcast to “the Women of the Empire” in 1943 where she stated, “your work, whatever it may be, is just as valuable, just as much ‘war-work’ as that which is done by the bravest soldier, sailor or airman who actually meets the enemy in battle.” William Shawcross, Counting One’s Blessings: The Selected Letters of the Queen Mother (New York: Farrar, Strauss and Giroux, 2012), 347.
- 15.
Compare Mark Brown, “We’re Too Nice to Albert—He was No Perfect Prince, Claims Historian: Lucy Worsley Thinks Queen Victoria’s Husband Manipulated Her So We Could Rule in All but Name,” The Guardian, 30 May 2019, https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2019/may/30/were-too-nice-to-albert-he-was-no-perfect-prince-claims-historian to Jill Lawless and Gregory Katz, “Philip, in Role with No Job Description, was Queen’s Bedrock,” Associated Press, 9 April 2021, https://apnews.com/article/prince-philip-dies-queen-elizabeth-d94948b6cc0acd306251533c8a3e14f4.
Further Reading
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Harris, C. (2023). Hanoverian to Windsor Consorts: Power, Influence, Dynasty. In: Norrie, A., Harris, C., Laynesmith, J., Messer, D.R., Woodacre, E. (eds) Hanoverian to Windsor Consorts. Queenship and Power. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-12829-5_1
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