From the 14th-century king consorts of Navarre to the modern European prince consorts of the 20th century, the male consort has been a peculiar yet recurrent historical figure. In this impressively broad collection, leading historians of monarchy analyze how male partners of female rulers have negotiated their unique roles throughout history.

David Abulafia, Cambridge University, UK
Daniel Alves, Universidade NOVA de Lisboa, Portugal
Roderick Barman, University of British Columbia, Canada
Derek Beales, Cambridge University, UK
Michael Bitter, University of Hawai'i at Hilo, USA
Sarah Duncan, Spring Hill College, USA
Maria Grever, Erasmus University Rotterdam, The Netherlands
Trond Norén Isaksen, independent historian
Caroline Keen, SOAS, UK
Simin Patel, University of Oxford, UK
Fabian Persson, Linnaeus University, Sweden
Karina Urbach, University of Munich, Germany
Elena Crislyn Woodacre, Bath Spa University, UK
Jeroen Van Zanten, University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Ina Zweiniger-Bargielowska, University of Illinois, Chicago, USA

Introduction: The Man Behind the Queen; Charles Beem and Miles Taylor 1. The King Consorts of Navarre, 1284-1512; Elena Crislyn Woodacre 2. Ferdinand the Catholic: King and Consort; David Abufalia 3. "He to be Entitled Kinge": King Philip and the Anglo-Spanish Court; Sarah Duncan 4. Why Prince George of Denmark Did Not Become a King of England; Charles Beem 5. From Ruler in the Shadows to Shadow King: Frederick I of Sweden; Fabian Persson 6. Count Ernst Johann Bühren and the Russian Court of Anna Ioannova; Michael Bitter 7. Francis Stephen: Duke, Regent and Emperor; Derek Beales 8. Prince Albert; The Creative Consort; Karina Urbach 9. Commemorating the Consort in Colonial Bombay; Simin Patel 10. Ferdinand II of Portugal: A Conciliator King in a Turmoil Kingdom; Daniel Alves 11. Gaston d'Orléans, Comte d'Eu: Prince Consort to Princess Isabel of Brazil; Roderick Barman 12. The Rise and Fall of Siddiq Hasan, Male Consort of Shah Jahan of Bhopal; Caroline Keen 13. Royalty, Rank, and Masculinity: Three Dutch Princes Consort in the Twentieth Century; Maria Grever and Jeroen Van Zanten 14. Prince Philip: Sportsman and Youth Leader; Ina Zweiniger-Bargielowska 15. The Prince Who Would Be King: Henrik of Denmark's Struggle for Recognition; Trond Norén Isaksen