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Consorts, past and future, in Britain’s changing monarchy

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Friday, April 9, 2021 3:36 AM
FILE - In this March 28, 1939 file photo, Britain's Queen Elizabeth with the Lord Mayor of London passes through the Council Chamber of the Guildhall to attend a party and reception in aid of the National Birthday Trust Fund in the Guildhall, London, after receiving purses from debutantes and peeresses. Prince Philip was the longest serving royal consort in British history. In Britain, the husband or wife of the monarch is known as consort, a position that carries immense prestige but has no constitutional role. The wife of King George VI, who outlived him by 50 years, was loved as the Queen Mother. (AP Photo/Leslie Priest, File)
FILE - In this 1945 file photo, Queen Elizabeth and Princess Elizabeth, left, talk to Wren Chief Officer E. King at the shipyards in Belfast during a visit to Northern Ireland when King George opened Ireland's New Parliament. Prince Philip was the longest serving royal consort in British history. In Britain, the husband or wife of the monarch is known as consort, a position that carries immense prestige but has no constitutional role. The wife of King George VI, who outlived him by 50 years, was loved as the Queen Mother. (AP Photo/File)
FILE - In this Friday, Aug. 4, 2000 file photo, Britain's Queen Elizabeth, The Queen Mother appears at the main gates to Clarence House, in London, before taking the Salute on her 100th birthday. Prince Philip was the longest serving royal consort in British history. In Britain, the husband or wife of the monarch is known as consort, a position that carries immense prestige but has no constitutional role. The wife of King George VI, who outlived him by 50 years, was loved as the Queen Mother. (Rebecca Naden/pool via AP, File)
FILE - In this Saturday, April 9, 2005 file photo, Britain's Prince Charles and his bride Camilla Duchess of Cornwall leave St George's Chaple in Windsor, England following the church blessing of their civil wedding ceremony. Prince Philip was the longest serving royal consort in British history. In Britain, the husband or wife of the monarch is known as consort, a position that carries immense prestige but has no constitutional role. The wife of King George VI, who outlived him by 50 years, was loved as the Queen Mother. (AP Photo/ Alastair Grant, Pool, File)
FILE - In this Tuesday, March 26, 2019 file photo, Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, waves to onlookers during a cultural event in Havana, Cuba. Prince Charles and Camilla arrived in Cuba Sunday with an agenda including visits to historic sites, a solar park, organic farm, bio-medical research center, a meeting with entrepreneurs, a cultural gala and a dinner with Cuba's president. Prince Philip was the longest serving royal consort in British history. In Britain, the husband or wife of the monarch is known as consort, a position that carries immense prestige but has no constitutional role. The wife of King George VI, who outlived him by 50 years, was loved as the Queen Mother. Prince Charles’ wife, Camilla, has worked to emerge from the shadow of his immensely popular first wife, Diana. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa, File)
FILE - In this Monday, Oct. 14, 2019 file photo, Britain's Prince Charles, third left, and his wife Camilla the Duchess of Cornwall, second left, arrive in the Norman Porch, flanked at left by Black Rod, Sarah Clarke the first ever female to serve in the role of Black Rod, at the Palace of Westminster and the Houses of Parliament for the State Opening of Parliament ceremony in London. Prince Philip was the longest serving royal consort in British history. In Britain, the husband or wife of the monarch is known as consort, a position that carries immense prestige but has no constitutional role. The wife of King George VI, who outlived him by 50 years, was loved as the Queen Mother. Prince Charles’ wife, Camilla, has worked to emerge from the shadow of his immensely popular first wife, Diana. (AP Photo/Matt Dunham, Pool, File)
FILE - In this Wednesday, Dec. 5, 2018 file photo, Kate, the Duchess of Cambridge, greets family members of personnel at the Akrotiri Royal Air Force base, near the south coastal city of Limassol, Cyprus. Prince Philip was the longest serving royal consort in British history. In Britain, the husband or wife of the monarch is known as consort, a position that carries immense prestige but has no constitutional role. The wife of King George VI, who outlived him by 50 years, was loved as the Queen Mother. Prince Charles’ wife, Camilla, has worked to emerge from the shadow of his immensely popular first wife, Diana. (AP Photo/Matt Dunham, Pool, File)
FILE - In this Tuesday, June 20, 2017 file photo, Britain's Kate, Duchess of Cambridge, left, smiles as she travels with Prince William, right, and Prince Edward in a open carriage to the parade ring on the first day of the Royal Ascot horse race meeting in Ascot, England. Prince Philip was the longest serving royal consort in British history. In Britain, the husband or wife of the monarch is known as consort, a position that carries immense prestige but has no constitutional role. The wife of King George VI, who outlived him by 50 years, was loved as the Queen Mother. Prince Charles’ wife, Camilla, has worked to emerge from the shadow of his immensely popular first wife, Diana. (AP Photo/Alastair Grant, File)
FILE - In this Monday, June 3, 2019 file photo, Kate, the Duchess of Cambridge and United States Secretary of the Treasury, Steven Mnuchin arrive through the East Gallery ahead of the State Banquet at Buckingham Palace in London. US President Donald Trump is on a three-day state visit to Britain. Prince Philip was the longest serving royal consort in British history. In Britain, the husband or wife of the monarch is known as consort, a position that carries immense prestige but has no constitutional role. The wife of King George VI, who outlived him by 50 years, was loved as the Queen Mother. Prince Charles’ wife, Camilla, has worked to emerge from the shadow of his immensely popular first wife, Diana. (Victoria Jones/Pool Photo via AP, File)

LONDON (AP) — Prince Philip was the longest serving royal consort in British history by more than a decade when he died Friday at 99.

It was a role he assumed in 1952 when his wife, Queen Elizabeth II, ascended to the throne after the sudden death of her father King George VI.

In Britain, the husband or wife of the monarch is known as the consort, a position that carries immense prestige but has no constitutional role. Here are some of the other royal consorts, past and future.

QUEEN ELIZABETH, THE QUEEN MOTHER

The mother of the current queen came to be known affectionately in Britain as The Queen Mum. For the last 50 years of her long life, she was widowed and therefore not the consort, but she did serve in that role while her husband, King George VI, was on the throne from 1936 until 1952. It was a period that included the tumultuous years of World War II.

Born Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon, she was descended from Scottish royalty. She was known as Queen Elizabeth while her husband reigned, and after his death as Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother.

During World War II, some opinion-makers suggested the queen and her two young daughters should leave England for safety in the United States or Canada, but the royal couple decided to stay despite the dangers of Germany’s aerial bombardment of London, including the 1940 bombing of Buckingham Palace.

She is remembered for saying, “The children won’t go without me. I won’t leave the king. And the king will never leave.”

The Queen Mother died in 2002 at the age of 101.

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CAMILLA, DUCHESS OF CORNWALL

Camilla, the wife of Prince Charles, has been a controversial figure in modern royal history because of her ongoing relationship with Charles during his difficult marriage to Princess Diana, who died in a car crash in 1997 after she and Charles divorced.

Diana was extremely popular with the British public and her sudden death at the age of 36 sparked a huge outpouring of grief that made it difficult, in terms of public acceptance, for Charles to marry his longtime love.

Public resistance to Camilla softened over time, and she and Charles married in 2005, choosing a civil ceremony rather than a church wedding. The queen and Prince Philip signaled their support by holding a reception for the couple at Windsor Castle.

In an acknowledgement of the sensitive situation, palace officials said at the time that when Charles becomes king, Camilla would be known as princess consort rather than queen consort. Camilla also did not take up Diana’s title as Princess of Wales even though she was entitled to it as wife to the heir of the throne.

Camilla won over many of her detractors with her down-to-earth image and work promoting literacy and other causes and is now a well-established royal consort.

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CATHERINE, DUCHESS OF CAMBRIDGE

The former Kate Middleton became Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, when she married Prince William in a lavish ceremony at Westminster Abbey in 2011. The two had fallen in love while attending university in Scotland.

William is expected to become king after his father, Prince Charles, and when that happens his wife will become queen consort. It is likely she will be known as Queen Catherine during her husband’s reign.

William and Kate have three young children — Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis — and they have both embraced a string of royal duties, including charity work with a focus on early childhood development and mental health issues. She and her husband are taking increasingly visible roles as the spotlight slowly shifts from Queen Elizabeth II to her children and grandchildren.

The popular Kate is expected to take Diana’s title of Princess of Wales once William becomes heir to the throne.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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