Although one of their number, usually the one who has been married to the chief for the longest time, may be given a chieftaincy of her own to highlight her relatively higher status when compared to the other wives, she does not share her husband's ritual power as a chieftain.

A Zulu chieftain designates one of his wives as ' Great Wife', which would be the equivalent to queen consort.Ĭonversely, in Yorubaland, all of a chief's consorts are essentially of equal rank.

Other cultures maintain different traditions on queenly status. The king's other consorts are accorded royal titles that confer status. In Thailand, the king and queen must both be of royal descent. Prior to the reign of King Mohammed VI, the Moroccan monarchy had no such title. In Morocco, King Mohammed VI has broken with tradition and given his wife, Lalla Salma, the title of princess. In monarchies where polygamy has been practised in the past (such as Morocco and Thailand), or is practised today (such as the Zulu nation and the various Yoruba polities), the number of wives of the king varies. When a title other than king is held by the sovereign, his wife can be referred to by the feminine equivalent, such as princess consort or empress consort.

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Queens Consort by Lisa Hilton