Throughout history, queens have wielded significant power and influence, and yet surprisingly few have received the kind of attention or fame they deserve. This book shines a light on these lesser-known sovereigns, many of whom proved themselves as shrewd politicians, able administrators or mighty commanders of armies, whilst others were as flawed or as brutal as their male counterparts.
Here are queens who have been long forgotten, overlooked, unfairly maligned or simply dismissed as mere bit-players on the world stage. Some ruled as queens in their own right whilst others were crowned queen consorts to kings. Many ruled on behalf of young heirs, fiercely protecting their offspring’s right to succeed, whilst others took over the reins of power when their kings were away for months, if not years. And some queens were forced to usurp power from inept husbands, when it was clear they had strength of character and were far better equipped to rule.
Not that ruling as Queen was all that easy: top of the tick-list of requirements for many queens was to produce the all-important heir to the throne (and preferably a couple of spares). Queens were also expected to be the model of subservience and virtue, no matter how badly their husbands behaved, whilst also acting as the ‘human face’ of the crown, giving alms to the poor, patronising religious institutions, smoothing over family and dynastic disputes and sponsoring artistic and literary endeavours.
Fulfilling all the expectations for a queen was indeed a tricky balancing act, for which they have always been harshly judged. Toe the line, produce a batch of sons, behave modestly and smile nicely at court and history may well forget you. Fail to produce an heir and you might be replaced or despatched (the nasty way). Refuse to submit to your husband or rail against his infidelities and you’ll be judged wilful or even mad. And should you wield power and maybe punish your rivals as men have done for centuries, then chances are you’ll be labelled as an evil tyrant/monster (but, then again, at least you might not be entirely forgotten …)
The queens covered in this book may have been cast into the shadows in some way, but they all have extraordinary stories to tell. Some, like Boudica, were once entirely forgotten, only to surface centuries later. Many queens are famous in their homelands but decidedly not famous elsewhere in the world; some names might trigger a twitch of recognition but many would draw a blank. There have also been deliberate attempts in the past to wipe some queens from memory, almost as if they were seen as an embarrassment, an anomaly best forgotten in the male-to-male succession. (Thankfully, archaeologists have unearthed the truth about the likes of ancient Egypt’s Hatshepsut, but are there other queens we know nothing about?) There are also those queens who have been defined largely by the exploits of their husbands (Catherine of Aragon and Katherine Parr step forward) or have made handy ‘withered hags’ in works of fiction (cue Margaret of Anjou) but whose portrayals bear little reality to their actual lives.
Forgotten, glossed over or much maligned, the queens in this book lived from as long as ago as 1500 BCE right up to the early twentieth century, and cover the globe from Europe to Africa,