Monarchical Ordinal - Queens Consort

Queens Consort

While reigning monarchs use ordinals, ordinals are not used for royal consorts. So whereas King George V of the United Kingdom used an ordinal to distinguish him from other kings in the United Kingdoms called George, his wife, Queen Mary, had no ordinal.

The lack of an ordinal in the case of royal consorts complicates the recording of history, as there may be a number of consorts over time with the same name with no way to distinguish between them. For that reason, royal consorts after their deaths are recorded in history books and encyclopaedias through the use of their maiden name or, if from a noble family, its Royal House (dynastic name) or the name of the corresponding titled land.