"From the fourteenth-century king consorts of Navarre to the modern European prince consorts of the twentieth century, the male consort has been a peculiar yet recurrent historical figure. In this impressively broad collection of essays on male partners of female monarchical rulers, leading historians of monarchy analyze how consorts have obtained and wielded power, how gender affected their perceived role, what sort of influence they were able to wield and attract politically and at court, how they defined themselves in the male gendered spheres of the arts or war, and more generally, the extent to which they contributed to the changing ideal and reality of royal families and dynasties over the centuries"--