Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh, was married to Queen Elizabeth II for more than 70 years. However, despite his long and distinguished service to the Crown, he was never given the title of King Consort.
Let’s see why was Prince Philip not King Consort, the reasons behind this decision and the history of the title of King Consort.
What is a King Consort?
First, let’s define what we mean by the term “King Consort.” In a monarchy, the husband of a queen is usually given the title of “Prince Consort” or “King Consort” to indicate that he is the spouse of the ruling queen. This is in contrast to a king, who is the ruling monarch in his own right.
Why was Prince Philip not King Consort?
The reason why Prince Philip was never called King Consort is due to a longstanding tradition in British monarchy.
The wife of a king is automatically given the title of Queen Consort, but the husband of a queen is not automatically given the title of King Consort. Instead, he is given the title of Prince Consort, as was the case with Prince Albert, the husband of Queen Victoria.
So why was Prince Philip not a King Consort? The answer lies in the fact that in the British monarchy, the title of King is considered to be higher in rank than the title of Queen.
This is because the King is the ruling monarch, while the Queen is the consort of the King. Therefore, it is not appropriate for the husband of a Queen to be given a higher title than the Queen herself.
Additionally, there was some concern that if Prince Philip were given the title of King, it might lead to confusion about who was the ruling monarch. It was felt that the public might mistakenly assume that Prince Philip had taken over from Queen Elizabeth II as the monarch.
Another factor to consider is that Prince Philip was not of royal blood, and therefore did not have the same claim to the throne as his wife. This might have also been a factor in the decision not to give him the title of King Consort.
In conclusion, Prince Philip was not called King Consort because of longstanding tradition and the fact that the title of King is considered to be higher in rank than the title of Queen.
There was also concern about potential confusion among the public about who was the ruling monarch. However, Prince Philip’s contributions to the monarchy and his long service to the Crown are widely recognized and celebrated.