Paintings By Two Queen Consorts

I snapped these with my phone when Tamara and I went to the exhibition on the Edwardian Period at the Kings Gallery, First up is sketch by Queen Alexandra (1844-1925) Garrawalt, October 1888 Watercolour over pencil, And second is by Queen Mary (1867-1953), entitled ‘From the corner of the Ponte Vecchio’, 1884 Watercolour over pencil.

Queen Alexandra and Queen Mary – let’s place them in context in the family tree of the Royal Family of the United Kingdom.

The short version is that Queen Alexandra was Queen Mary’s mother-in-law.

The longer version is that Queen Alexandra (1844–1925) was the daughter of: King Christian IX of Denmark. She married Albert Edward, Prince of Wales, who became King Edward VII in 1901 following the death of his mother Queen Victoria, and Alexandra became Queen Consort until Edward’s death in 1910.

Their children included King George V, Princess Louise, Princess Victoria, and Queen Maud of Norway.

Queen Mary (1867–1953) was the daughter of: Princess Mary Adelaide of Cambridge, who was a granddaughter of King George III. She married Prince George, Duke of York, who became King George V in 1910 and was Queen Consort until George’s death in 1936.
Their children included King Edward VIII and King George VI, the father of Queen Elizabeth II.

Queen Consort vs Queen

A Queen Consort is the wife of a reigning king. She holds the title through marriage, and not in her own right and she does not share the king’s sovereign powers, and with

Queen Alexandra, wife of King Edward VII
Queen Mary, wife of King George V
Queen Camilla, wife of King Charles III

In contrast. a Queen Regnant is a queen in her own right, as with:

Queen Elizabeth I
Queen Victoria
Queen Elizabeth II

Queen Camilla

During her Platinum Jubilee Queen Elizabeth II said that it was her ‘sincere wish’ that Camilla be known as Queen Consort when Charles became king even though Camilla she was Charles’s second wife.

Then at her coronation, although her title was officially changed from Queen Consort to Queen, the distinction remains and she is a Queen Consort, not a Queen Regnant.