This article is a continuation of one published for International Women's Day this year (Fernández Guisasola, 2024b). In that piece, it was analyzed how women had been able to access some thrones, though not all, and were always expected to share certain governmental functions with their husband, especially military ones.
One of the significant changes that occurs in the sixteenth century is a series of circumstances leading to the rise of various sovereign queens, which brings about an evolution in the debate over women's capacity to rule. This debate was also influenced by one of the great confrontations of the period: the dispute between Catholics and reformists.
The most paradigmatic cases took place on the British Isles. King Edward VI of England was Protestant. His religious current openly denied succession to women , as evidenced by John Knox's writings:
"Promoting a woman to exercise government, superiority, dominion or command over any kingdom, nation or city is repugnant to nature" (Knox, 2016, p. 122).
Consequently, Edward made a will excluding women, but in 1553, upon his deathbed and with no other men in the line of succession, he had to change it to allow for the succession of his second cousin, Jane Grey (Alford, 2002, p. 172). Edward's wishes did not come true: Jane ended up imprisoned and Mary Tudor, the king’s sister, ascended the throne.
Mary I was the first woman to own England. Despite having had numerous suitors, Queen Mary remained unmarried at thirty-three years of age. It was necessary for her to marry in order to produce an heir. The chosen groom was Philip II of Spain. As was customary, it was expected that the consorting king would have a position of power. Mary anticipated events and approved an act recognizing a queen's right to govern as any man, i.e., without depending on her husband (Loach, 1986, p. 96-97).
These precautions were warranted since the day after their wedding, King Philip attempted to take charge of the reign citing his wife's alleged lack of experience (Kelsey, 2012, p. 94). Although Mary retained ultimate power, in all official representations and art pieces they appeared as co-sovereigns similar to the Catholic Monarchs (Francisco Olmos, 2005; Velazco Balaguer, 2023). When Mary Tudor died in 1558, she was succeeded by her sister Elizabeth, who chose to remain unmarried, avoiding the problems that came with the figure of a consorting king. In return, Elizabeth I had to face numerous claims about her succession (Robison, 2017).
The rights to the throne of Elizabeth I were challenged by her second cousin, Mary Stuart, Queen of Scotland. She ascended the Scottish throne at a few days old. She married three different times: Francis II of France, Henry Stewart and (in the last days of her reign) James Hepburn. The first two husbands of Mary appeared in official elements once again very similar to the Catholic Monarchs. However, Henry Stuart was not content with formal aspects and wanted to exercise governance; this led to conflict with his wife, culminating in his murder and ultimately the overthrowing of Mary Stuart. Finally, Elizabeth of England executed Mary Stuart, and both thrones were inherited by James I of England and VI of Scotland, son of Mary.
One of the claimants to Elizabeth I's throne was Infanta Isabella Clara Eugenia, daughter of Philip II. She also claimed the French throne, from which women were barred. When left without a kingdom, her father ceded the Netherlands to her on condition that she marry his cousin, Archduke Albert (García Prieto, 2013). Formally they were co-sovereigns as can be seen in their seals and coins where there is clear influence from the iconography of Philip II and Mary Tudor, and thus the Catholic Monarchs (Francisco Olmos, 2005; Velazco Balaguer, 2023); though Albert was actually the one who took charge of almost all governmental tasks by permission of the infanta (Duerloo, 2012). Upon his death, Isabella Clara had to return the Netherlands to her nephew Philip IV and continued as governor in his name.
In 1632 ascended the Swedish throne Queen Christina at five years old. She was the first female monarch of her realm since Margaret I (Fernández Guisasola, 2024a). Like Elizabeth I of England, Queen Christina avoided marriage. It may have been due to her sexual orientation or to avoid the control of a man as in the case of Isabel Tudor. When pressure for her marriage became too strong, Queen Christina took the decision to abdicate and formally renounced in 1654 (Allendesalazar, 2009).
Again in England, in 1688 the Glorious Revolution triumphed which overthrew James II. They proclaimed instead his daughter Mary II and her cousin and husband William III. Unlike the case of Mary Tudor, both queen and husband were proprietors, i.e., they had equal authority. Proof of this is that when Mary died it was not immediately succeeded by her sister Anne but rather William III continued to reign alone, an unusual power for someone who only ruled through marriage (Beem, 2014). In their seals and coins there is clear influence from the iconography of Mary Tudor and Philip II (Francisco Olmos, 2017, 94-99).
As William III died without children, the other daughter of James II ascended to the throne, Queen Anne, who united the realms of England and Scotland in Great Britain. The husband of Anne, Prince George of Denmark, received no title or authority for his wife's enthronement (Beem, 2014).
As it became increasingly common for women to occupy European thrones, Spain suffered a setback in the succession rights of princesses. In the previous article, it was explained how in the Hispanic realms female succession was accepted except in Aragon. However, Philip V established a new succession rule that only allowed women to inherit if there were no male relatives (Coronas González, 2011, pp. 18-21).
In 1718 the second queen ascended to the Swedish throne, Ulrica Leonora. However, she was not recognized as her brother's heir but rather as a sovereign elected by parliament, which harmed dynastic rights. A year after ascending the throne, she abdicated in favor of her husband Frederick of Hesse-Kassel and became queen consort (Roberts, 2003, pp. 7-8).
In 1740 the male line of the House of Austria came to an end. All territories were inherited by Maria Theresa who was Queen of Hungary and Bohemia and Archduchess of Austria. The only title she could not receive was that of Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire, which was not hereditary and reserved for men. Eventually, the husband of Maria Theresa, Leopold of Lorraine, was elected emperor. Although technically the Queen of Hungary made her husband co-ruler, in practice he carried out specific actions on behalf of Maria Theresa or acted as regent during her pregnancies (Beales, 2014).
Finally, it is worth mentioning the case of Russia since for most of the seventeenth century it was governed by women. The death of Peter I led to a rapid succession of relatives, mostly women who did not have husbands during their reign (Alexander, 1989, pp. 17-20). The last one was Catherine II, who overthrew and allegedly murdered her husband, Peter III (Madariaga, 1981). After the death of Empress Catherine, her son Paul, resentful for his mother's attempt to disinherit him, prohibited any other woman from ascending Russia’s throne (García Pérez, 2023).
In conclusion, during the Modern Age there were several proprietorial queens who continued to face the dilemma of the need for a husband. However, some managed to reign unmarried, breaking an entrenched taboo but facing complicated successions in favor of collateral relatives. The eighteenth century marked an important change since some married sovereigns, such as Anne of Great Britain and Maria Theresa of Austria, could be married without sharing power with their husbands. Nevertheless, some realms like Spain began to put more obstacles for female succession.
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