- See also: List of current queens regnant
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.
List of queens regnant
Aceh
- Seri Ratu Niharsyah the Sultana of Samudera Pasai.
- Seri Ratu Ta'jul Alam Shah the Sultana of Atjeh (Aceh) Darussalam. Formerly known as Puteri Seri Alam the Daughter of The Great Sultan Iskandar Muda, and wife of Sultan Iskandar Thani. She ruled Atjeh for nearly 36 years.
- Seri Ratu Keumalat Shah the god daughter of Ratu Ta'jul Alam.
- Seri Ratu Inayat Shah the god daughter of Ratu Ta'jul Alam.
Arab Empire
- Shajar al-Durr (ruled 1250-1257)
Austria, Bohemia, Croatia, Hungary
- Maria Theresa of Austria, Archduchess of Austria (1740-1780), Queen of Hungary, Croatia and Slavonia (1741-1780), Queen of Bohemia (1743-1780)
Central Asia and Persian Empire
- Tomyris, queen of the Massagetae (ruled c. 530 BC)
- Borandukht (ruled 630-631)
- Azarmidokht (sister of Borandukht, ruled 631)
China
- There has been only one Empress regnant (Wu Zetian) in Chinese history, but there have been many powerful empress consorts or empress dowagers. The powerful empress consorts or empress dowagers were de facto rulers but not de jure Empress regnants. (A concubine who gave birth to the crown prince could also become empress dowager, though her status was still a little lower than an empress dowager who had been the former empress consort.)
- Wu Zetian 武則天 (ruled 690-705) - the sole Chinese Empress regnant, the empress consort of Tang Gaozong, the mother of Tang Zhongzong and Tang Ruizong, established the Zhou Dynasty (also known as Wu Zhou 武周) after dismissing her sons and becoming the emperor.
- Empress Lü Zhi (ruled 195BC-180BC) - the empress consort of Emperor Gaozu of Han.
- Empress Dou (Wen)- the empress consort of Emperor Wen of Han.
- Empress Deng Sui (ruled 105-121) - the empress consort of Emperor He of Han.
- Empress Chu Suanzi- the empress consort of Emperor Kang of Jin.
- Empress Feng (Wencheng)- the empress consort of Emperor Wencheng of Northern Wei.
- Empress Dowager Hu (Xiaoming)- the concubine of Emperor Xuanwu of Northern Wei, the mother of Emperor Xiaoming of Northern Wei.
- Empress Dugu Qieluo- the empress consort of Emperor Wen of Sui.
- Empress Xiao (Taizu) (ruled 926-947) - the empress consort of Emperor Taizu of Liao.
- Empress Xiao (ruled 975-1009) - the empress consort of Emperor Jingzong of Liao.
- Empress Liu (ruled 1020-1033) - the empress consort of Emperor Zhenzong of Song.
- Empress Gao (ruled 1085-1093) - the empress consort of Emperor Yingzong of Song.
- Empress Dowager Xiaozhuang- the concubine of Emperor Huang Taiji, the mother of Shunzhi Emperor, the grandmother of Kangxi Emperor .
- Empress Dowager Ci'an (ruled 1861-1881) - the empress consort of Xianfeng Emperor.
- Empress Dowager Cixi (ruled 1861-1908) - the concubine of Xianfeng Emperor, the mother of Tongzhi Emperor.
Denmark
- Margaret I of Denmark, Queen of Denmark (1375 – 1412), Queen of Norway (1388 – 1412), Regent of Sweden (1389 – 1412)
- Margrethe II of Denmark (1972 – present)
Ancient Egypt
- Khentkaues
- Nitocris (disputed)
- Sobekneferu
- Hatshepsut
- Twosret
- Nefertiti
- Berenice I
- Arsinoe I
- Arsinoe II
- Berenice II
- Arsinoe III
- Cleopatra I
- Cleopatra II
- Cleopatra III
- Cleopatra IV
- Berenice III
- Cleopatra V
- Cleopatra VI
- Berenice IV
- Cleopatra VII
- Arsinoe IV
Hawaii
- Liliuokalani (ruled 1891-1893; still claimed status as queen until her death in 1917)
Hungary, Croatia and Dalmatia
- Mary of Hungary (ruled 1382-1385 and 1386-1395)
India
- Raziyyat-ud-din Sultana of Slave Dynasty (ruled 1236-1240)
- Nur Jahan of Mughal Empire (ruled 1627-1645)
- Gowri Lakshmi Bayi of Travancore (ruled 1811-1814)
Japan
- Queen Himiko of Yamatai
- Queen Toyo of Yamatai
- Empress Jingū
- Empress Iitoyo
- Empress Suiko
- Empress Kōgyoku (reigned a second time as Empress Saimei)
- Empress Jitō
- Empress Gemmei
- Empress Genshō
- Empress Kōken (reigned a second time as Empress Shōtoku)
- Empress Meishō
- Empress Go-Sakuramachi
Judea
- Athaliah (ruled 843-835 BC)
- Salome Alexandra (ruled 76-67 BC)
Korea
- Queen Seondeok of Silla (ruled 632-647)
- Jindeok of Silla (ruled 647-652)
- Jinseong of Silla (ruled 887-897)
Madagascar
Mongolia
The Netherlands
- Wilhelmina of the Netherlands (reigned November 23, 1890 – September 4, 1948)
- Juliana of the Netherlands (reigned September 4, 1948 – April 30, 1980)
- Beatrix of the Netherlands (reigned April 30, 1980 – present).
Poland
- Jadwiga of Poland (ruled 1384-1386)
- Anna Jagiellon (ruled 1575-1595)
Portugal
- Beatrice of Portugal (ruled de facto 1383-1385)
- Maria I of Portugal (ruled 1777-1816))
- Maria II of Portugal (ruled 1826-1828 and 1834-1853)
Russia
- Catherine I of Russia (1725-1727)
- Anna of Russia (1730-1740)
- Elizabeth of Russia (1741-1762)
- Catherine II of Russia (1762-1796)
Spain/Castile
- Isabella of Castile
- Joanna of Castile, reputedly mad after the death of her husband, she was effectively deposed by her father, King Ferdinand of Aragon, who ruled Castile as her regent until his death; then her son, Charles, who was named King of Aragon (which followed the Salic Law) ruled as regent for his mother until her death. On Charles' abdication, his son, Philip, became the first monarch of the now united Kingdom of Spain.
- Isabella II of Spain
Sweden
- Margaret of Sweden (1389 – 1412)
- Christina of Sweden (1632 – June 5, 1654)
- Ulrika Eleonora of Sweden (November 30, 1718 – February 29, 1720)
UK / Commonwealth / England / Great Britain / Scotland
- Boudica, queen of the Brythonic Celtic Iceni people of Norfolk in Eastern Britain who led a major uprising of the tribes against the occupying forces of the Roman Empire.
- Matilda (or Maud) of England (never reigned 1141) – usurped. Styled herself "Lady of the English." (although Queen of the English was not unknown) She was named heir by her father Henry I of England upon securing the loyalty of nobles of the realm, but Count Stephen of Blois contradicted his promise after the king's death and made himself King of England instead of Maud/Matilda. Civil war ensued and was ended when the crown was secured to Maud/Matilda's son, Henry II of England, who became the first king of the House of Plantagenet.
- Margaret, the Maid of Norway (heir March 19, 1286 – September 26, 1290). She was the daughter of Eirik II of Norway and Margaret, daughter of Alexander III. She died on the sea journey to Scotland before being inaugurated.
- Mary I, Queen of Scots (reigned December 14, 1542 – July 24, 1567). She became queen when she was six days old, was crowned at age 5, and promptly engaged to the Dauphin of France - the future Francis II.
- Lady Jane Grey (reigned July 10 – July 19, 1553) – Her cousin Edward VI of England appointed her successor by removing his older half-sisters Mary and Elizabeth from the order of succession as illegitimates. This decision had not been approved by Parliament and was open to questions of its legality. Mary was the heir according to the will of their father Henry VIII of England and was elevated to the throne through revolt. Nevertheless, Jane is sometimes considered England's first queen regnant. She is called "The Nine Days Queen."
- Mary I of England (reigned July 19, 1553 – November 17, 1558). Elevated to the throne in accordance with Henry VIII's will. Reckoned the first or second queen regnant and subsequent years of her reign as though Jane had never been Queen.
- Elizabeth I of England (term November 17, 1558 – March 24, 1603). The other sister Edward VI attempted to remove from the order of succession. Succeeded her childless older half-sister and led England to one of its richest periods in history, known as the Elizabethan Age. Also died childless.
- Mary II of England/Mary II, Queen of Scots (reigned February 13/April 11, 1689 – December 28, 1694). Co-reigned with her husband William III; they were given the throne by Parliament after the same deposed James II during the so-called Glorious Revolution of 1688.
- Anne, Queen of England, Scotland and Ireland; later, Queen of Great Britain and Queen of Ireland (reigned March 8, 1702 – August 1, 1714).
- Victoria of the United Kingdom (reigned June 20, 1837 – January 22, 1901).
- Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom (current monarch since February 6, 1952).
Viet Nam
- Trưng Sisters (40 - 43 AD)
- Lý Chiêu Hoàng of Lý Dynasty (1224 - 1225)
