Because they weren’t in competition with each other, queens and their husbands could cut through the intrigue and trust each other. (In those days, you never knew who among your kin was plotting a bloody overthrow.) As for husbands, most states banned them from succeeding their spouse unless they had already been named co-monarch. Family members were usually out of the question. Plus, especially in earlier days, it could be hard for a queen to find people to trust. Even without this explicit formality, the husband advantage was useful, though. Think Prince Albert, who served as Queen Victoria’s closest advisor and heavily influenced her management of Britain’s colonies. In 16 of the sample’s 34 female reigns, a queen and her husband ruled jointly-as Isabella and Ferdinand did over Leon and Castile, and Suzanne and Charles I did in the Duchy of Bourbonnais between 15. This sharing of duties sometimes made a queendom run more effectively.įor some queens, this cooperation was official. Since male royalty tended to hold positions in their home militaries and had experience with state affairs, a queen often gained a husband and a trusted supporter to lead her most important institution. Gender norms of the day edged even queens as powerful as Isabella out of the military sphere though she planned military campaigns and sometimes rallied her troops decked out in armor, it was Ferdinand who led them into battle.
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