Aroyal consort is a person granted official status through an intimate relationship, often throughmarriage orconcubinage, with amonarch.[1] The term originates from theLatinconsors, meaning "partner", and can be used in everyday English as a synonym for that word, and as a verb meaning "to associate".[2] As it pertains to royalty, the term "has its roots in seventeenth-century vocabulary in bothNew England andEngland", where it was initially used to mean simply a spouse.[3] It has since been extended to encompass similar relationships with other significant figures, such as ahead of state.
It has been recently noted thatconsort, "though literally denoting a partner or spouse, is a heavily loaded term, for a consort is usually implied to be a mere appendage, far inferior in power and status to his or her spouse".[4] In invitations for the 2023coronation ofKing Charles III and his wifeQueen Camilla, for example, theBritish royal family notably styled Camilla as "The Queen" instead of "Queen Consort".[5][6]
