Queenship in Europe, 1660-1815

One of the most exciting developments of recent years within court studies has been the increasing interest in gender and monarchy. This volume operates as an illuminating and accessible contribution to this area of study. It provides a fine introduction to the histories of a range of royal and princely wives (and their respective courts), combining a blend of biographical detail with cultural and political investigation. The editor and thirteen authors assemble a collection of richly detailed case-studies rather than offering systematic analysis per se of the lot of the consort. However, the editorial introduction brings some of these disparate strands together and common themes emerge as the book progresses: such as the polycentric nature of courts, the varying degrees of agency available to royal and princely women, and the role played by religion in shaping and succouring their lives. It also provides considerable information concerning how consorts were chosen, highlighting the diplomatic and gynaecological considerations that were often at work, and how their households were selected. By doing so, it not only offers a political history of this select cohort of women, it exists as a social and domestic history of royal and princely women and courtly mentalities

Agency (philosophy · Genealogy · Monarchy · Political science · Politics · Social science · Sociology · Work (physics · Engineering · Gender Studies · Historical Art and Culture Studies · Historical Economic and Social Studies · Historical Influence and Diplomacy · History · Law