What is "queen consort"

Queen \Queen\, n. [OE. quen, quene, queen, quean, AS. cw[=e]n wife, queen, woman; akin to OS. qu[=a]n wife, woman, Icel. kv[=a]n wife, queen, Goth. q[=e]ns. [root]22

1. See Quean.] 1. The wife of a king.

2. A woman who is the sovereign of a kingdom; a female monarch; as, Elizabeth, queen of England; Mary, queen of Scots.

   In faith, and by the heaven's quene.
   --Chaucer.

3. A woman eminent in power or attractions; the highest of her kind; as, a queen in society; -- also used figuratively of cities, countries, etc. `` This queen of cities.'' `` Albion, queen of isles.''
   --Cowper.

4. The fertile, or fully developed, female of social bees, ants, and termites.

5. (Chess) The most powerful, and except the king the most important, piece in a set of chessmen.

6. A playing card bearing the picture of a queen; as, the queen of spades.

   Queen apple. [Cf. OE. quyne aple quince apple.] A kind of apple; a queening. ``Queen apples and red cherries.''
   --Spenser.

   Queen bee (Zo["o]l.), a female bee, especially the female of the honeybee. See Honeybee.

   Queen conch (Zo["o]l.), a very large West Indian cameo conch ( Cassis cameo). It is much used for making cameos.

   Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king.
   --Blackstone.

   Queen dowager, the widow of a king.

   Queen gold, formerly a revenue of the queen consort of England, arising from gifts, fines, etc.

   Queen mother, a queen dowager who is also mother of the reigning king or queen.

   Queen of May. See May queen, under May.

   Queen of the meadow (Bot.), a European herbaceous plant ( Spir[ae]a Ulmaria). See Meadowsweet.

   Queen of the prairie (Bot.), an American herb ( Spir[ae]a lobata) with ample clusters of pale pink flowers.

   Queen pigeon (Zo["o]l.), any one of several species of very large and handsome crested ground pigeons of the genus Goura, native of New Guinea and the adjacent islands. They are mostly pale blue, or ash-blue, marked with white, and have a large occipital crest of spatulate feathers. Called also crowned pigeon, goura, and Victoria pigeon.

   Queen regent, or Queen regnant, a queen reigning in her own right.

   Queen's Bench. See King's Bench.

   Queen's counsel, Queen's evidence. See King's counsel, King's evidence, under King.

   Queen's delight (Bot.), an American plant ( Stillinqia sylvatica) of the Spurge family, having an herbaceous stem and a perennial woody root.

   Queen's metal (Metal.), an alloy somewhat resembling pewter or britannia, and consisting essentially of tin with a slight admixture of antimony, bismuth, and lead or copper.

   Queen's pigeon. (Zo["o]l.) Same as Queen pigeon, above.

   Queen's ware, glazed English earthenware of a cream color.

   Queen's yellow (Old Chem.), a heavy yellow powder consisting of a basic mercuric sulphate; -- formerly called turpetum minerale, or Turbith's mineral.

Consort \Con"sort\ (k[o^]n"s[^o]rt), n. [L. consore, -sortis; con- + sors lot, fate, share. See Sort.]

1. One who shares the lot of another; a companion; a partner; especially, a wife or husband.
   --Milton.

   He single chose to live, and shunned to wed, Well pleased to want a consort of his bed.
   --Dryden.

   The consort of the queen has passed from this troubled sphere.
   --Thakeray.

   The snow-white gander, invariably accompanied by his darker consort.
   --Darwin.

2. (Naut.) A ship keeping company with another.

3. Concurrence; conjunction; combination; association; union. ``By Heaven's consort.''
   --Fuller. ``Working in consort.''
   --Hare.

   Take it singly, and it carries an air of levity; but, in consort with the rest, has a meaning quite different.
   --Atterbury.

4. [LL. consortium.] An assembly or association of persons; a company; a group; a combination. [Obs.]

   In one consort' there sat Cruel revenge and rancorous despite, Disloyal treason, and heart-burning hate.
   --Spenser.

   Lord, place me in thy consort.
   --Herbert.

5. [Perh. confused with concert.] Harmony of sounds; concert, as of musical instruments. [Obs.]
   --Milton.

   To make a sad consort'; Come, let us join our mournful song with theirs.
   --Spenser.

   Prince consort, the husband of a queen regnant.

   Queen consort, the wife of a king, as distinguished from a queen regnant, who rules alone, and a queen dowager, the window of a king.

n. The wife of a reigning king.

n. the wife of a reigning king

A queen consort is the wife of a reigning king (or an empress consort in the case of an emperor). In Brunei, the wife of the Sultan is known as a Raja Isteri with prefix Pengiran Anak, equivalent with queen consort in English, as were the consorts of tsars when Bulgaria was still a monarchy. A queen consort usually shares her husband's social rank and status. She holds the feminine equivalent of the king's monarchical titles, but historically, she does not share the king's political and military powers. A queen regnant is a queen in her own right with all the powers of a monarch, who (usually) has become queen by inheriting the throne upon the death of the previous monarch.