Her father, George VI was King and his wife was made Queen Elizabeth. (Have just watched "The Queen" on DVD and the thought just struck me ....
2007-03-20 06:52:23 · 21 answers · asked by Anonymous in Society & Culture ➔ Royalty
The "rank" of King is considered superior to that of Queen, therefore when the Queen takes a husband he is never described as King, as that would imply he is superior to his wife, the legitimate sovereign.
Same thing happened with Queen Victoria, her hubby was Prince Albert, not King.
Quiant & discriminatory, for sure, but that's the way the law's been since, I think, the Act of Settlement in 1701.
2007-03-20 07:22:00 · answer #1 · answered by champer 7 · 5⤊ 3⤋
The King is always above the queen in the hierarchy therefore the King's wife can be Queen but the Queen's husband cannot be King. Very sexist but those are the rules which appear to have been working well for centuries. Since, these days, the monarch is really just a figurehead it really doesn't matter as much as it did in the past.
2007-03-20 20:12:26 · answer #2 · answered by monkeyface 7 · 1⤊ 1⤋
A king is the ruler of a kingdom. Had Prince Phillip, the Duke of Edinburgh, been named King, he would have taken precedence over Queen Elizabeth. That was not permitted as he was not in line for the throne. His title is courtesy only. With the wives, or consorts of kings, it doesn't matter if they are called Queen as the King outranks them anyway.
2007-03-20 11:40:37 · answer #3 · answered by old lady 7 · 1⤊ 1⤋
Mostly because nobody ever asked to make him King (or King Consort, as the rank would officially be). Parliament would have to approve such a title for him, and nobody ever asked them to do so. Heck, Phillip didn't even become a British Prince until Elizabeth had been Queen for several years (though he was a Greek Prince before that). In all likelihood, Elizabeth II didn't want to raise him to a position where he could be viewed as being on equal footing with her. There's also a matter of precedent: the last Queen, Victoria, had a husband of only Prince rank, as have most (though not all) previous British Queens.
2007-03-20 11:20:51 · answer #4 · answered by JerH1 7 · 0⤊ 2⤋
Every time this question is posted, which is about once a week, the same set of wrong answers seem to get posted by people who know nothing about it.
The married partner of the monarch is called whatever the monarch wishes them to be called, and Parliament will agree to.
Queen Mary (1688 - 94) wanted her husband to be called "King William", and refused to be Queen otherwise, so Parliament agreed.
Queen Anne (1702 - 14) did not ask for any other title for her husband, Prince George of Denmark. He died in 1708.
Queen Victoria (1837 - 1901) married Albert in 1840, and called him her Prince Consort, although Parliament did not actually grant him this title until 1857. He died in 1861, and it is expected that simply to respect his memory, no future Queen will want to re-use this particular title.
Queen Elizabeth waited from 1952, when she became Queen, until 1957 before asking Parliament to agree to Philip being called Prince Philip instead of just the Duke of Edinburgh, and they agreed (then she adjusted it slightly to "The Prince Philip", but nobody complained).
Nearly all Kings want their wives to be called Queen, and Parliament has nearly always agreed. However, Charles has announced that he and Camilla don't want her to be called Queen Camilla, so that will be okay too.
2007-03-21 02:27:16 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 1⤋
There is a mighty big clue (not that anyone seems to get it) in the title of our country - The United KINGdom. When the Queen dies, it will be announced that the KING is dead, long live the King!
Get it?
The Queen is a female KING! Therefore you cannot have a Queen and a King, but you can have a King and a Queen.
Good night!
2007-03-20 09:45:18 · answer #6 · answered by Raymo 6 · 1⤊ 2⤋
Her mother can be Queen because she was married to the King, but it doesn't work the other way around. Thats why when King George died our Queen became Queen and King Georges wife became the Queen Mother. It's complicated, but just, a son of royalty can become King and have a Queen, a daughter of royalty can become Queen but she can't have a King taking her power.
2007-03-20 07:22:57 · answer #7 · answered by floppity 7 · 2⤊ 2⤋
A King has a Queen but a Queen has a Consort. She wouldnt give up her title of Queen when our Queen came to the throne. The Queen Mum's story makes good reading, she wasnt what most people think she was, see if you can find a book about her that reveals her true nature.
2007-03-20 06:58:21 · answer #8 · answered by Sugarlump 3 · 2⤊ 3⤋
The title of King was always seen as been of greater position than that of Queen, therefore while a King's wife became Queen , a Queen Regnant spouse didn't become King, because then he would outrank her.
In previous centuries the husband of a Queen regnant would become King when the Queen gave birth to an heir, and then they would jointly reign.
2007-03-20 09:21:23 · answer #9 · answered by christian 2 · 2⤊ 3⤋
The Queen's husband is never the King unless it is him that is the ruler. EG, George VI was the ruler so his wife is automatically the Queen (although she wasn't Elizabeth II). As our Queen is the ruler her husband is not automatically the King. The next King will be either Charles or William
2007-03-20 06:56:21 · answer #10 · answered by ChocLover 7 · 3⤊ 2⤋