Queen of the Romans (, ) or Queen of the Germans were the official titles of the queens consort of the medieval and early modern Kingdom of Germany. They were the wives of the King of the Romans (chosen by imperial election), and are informally also known as German queen (). A Queen of the Romans also became Holy Roman Empress if her husband was crowned Holy Roman Emperor, in the Middle Ages usually by the Pope in Rome during an Italienzug. Most elected Kings of the Romans did, but some never made it that far, and thus their wives only ever achieved the status of Queen of the Romans.
Empress Maria Theresa (1745–1780) is often considered to be a ruler in her own right, as she was Queen regnant of Bohemia and Hungary, and although her husband Francis I was crowned Holy Roman Emperor in 1745, it was she who ruled the Empire and continued to do so even after Francis' death in 1765 before ruling jointly with her son Emperor Joseph II.
German (East Francian) Queens
With the Treaty of Verdun in 843, the Carolingian Empire was divided. Lothair, the King of the middle Kingdom of Lotharingia or Burgundy, obtained the title of Emperor; Louis obtained Eastern Francia, the area which would become Germany. The wives of that realm's Kings are thus German Queens (or more precisely, East Francian Queens – 'Germany' is historically deemed to have developed with the election of Henry the Fowler), but not always Empresses.
Carolingian PictureNameHouseBirthMarriageBecame QueenBecame EmpressCeased to be ConsortDeathSpouse Emma of AltdorfQueen of the East Franks Elder Welf 808 827 11 August 843 never Empress 31 January 876 Louis I/II LiutgardQueen of the East Franks Liudolfing c. 845 29 November 874 26 August 876 never Empress 20 January 882 17/30 November 885 Louis II/III Richardis Ahalolfinger c.840 862 20 January 882 12 February 881 As Queen: 11 November 887husband's deposition as KingAs Empress: 13 January 888husband's death 18 September 894-896 Charles the Fat Ota Conradine c. 874 888 22 February 896 8 December 899 30 November 903 ArnulfPictureNameHouseBirth MarriageBecame QueenBecame EmpressCeased to be ConsortDeathSpouse
Conradine PictureNameHouseBirthMarriageBecame QueenBecame EmpressCeased to be ConsortDeathSpouse Cunigunde of SwabiaQueen of East Francia Ahalolfings c.870 913 never Empress 23 December 918 7 February after 918 Conrad IPictureNameHouseBirthMarriageBecame QueenBecame EmpressCeased to be ConsortDeathSpouse
German Queens With the elevation of Otto I of Germany in 962 to the Imperial title, the title 'Roman King/Emperor' became inaliably associated with the Kingdom of Germany – although a King of Germany might not bear the Imperial title, it would eventually become impossible to conceive of a Holy Roman Emperor not being King of Germany (a viewpoint reinforced with the equation of King of the Romans with King of Germany from the 12th century). Thus, the following women, though not all Holy Roman Empresses, were all Queens of Germany, and – from the inception of the Hohenstaufen dynasty – all Queens of the Romans.
Ottonian Dynasty PictureNameFatherBirthMarriageBecame QueenBecame EmpressCeased to be ConsortDeathSpouse MatildaQueen of the East Franks Dietrich, Count of Westphalia(Immedinger) c.895 909 23 April 919 never Empress 2 July 936 14 March 968 Henry I Edith of WessexQueen of the East Franks Edward the Elder (Wessex) 910 929 7 August 936 never Empress 26 January 946 Otto I Adelaide of Italy Rudolph II of Burgundy(Welf) 931 951 2 February 962 (Crowned on this date) 7 May 973 16 December 999 Theophanu of Byzantium Konstantinos Skleros(Skleros) 960 14 April 972 14 April 972husband as co-Emperor with his father/7 May 973husband as sole EmperorCrowned 14 April 972 7 December 983husband's death 15 June 991 Otto II Cunigunde of Luxembourg Siegfried, Count of Luxemburg(Ardenne–Luxembourg) c.975 c.1000 17 June 1002 26 April 1014 13 July 1024 3 March 1033 Henry IIPictureNameFatherBirthMarriageBecame QueenBecame EmpressCeased to be ConsortDeathSpouse
Salian Dynasty PictureNameFatherBirthMarriageBecame QueenBecame EmpressCeased to be ConsortDeathSpouse Gisela of Swabia Herman II, Duke of Swabia(Conradines) 11 November 995 1016 8 September 1024 26 March 1027 4 June 1039husband's death 14 February 1043 Conrad II Gunhilda Knutsdatter of DenmarkQueen of the Germans Cnut the Great(Denmark) c.1020 1036 never Empress 1038 Henry III Agnes de Poitou William V, Duke of Aquitaine(Ramnulfids) 1025 21 November 1043 25 December 1046 5 October 1056 14 December 1077 Bertha of Savoy Otto, Count of Savoy(Savoy) 21 September 1051 13 July 1066 21 March 1084 27 December 1087 Henry IV Eupraxia of Kiev(Adelaide) Vsevolod I, Grand Prince of Kiev(Rurikids) 1071 14 August 1089 14 August 1089 31 December 1105husband's deposition 20 July 1109 ConstanzeQueen of the Romans Roger I of Sicily(Hauteville) 1077–1087 1095 never Empress 1098husband's deposition 27 November 1198 Conrad, King of the Romans Matilda of England Henry I of England(Normandy) 7 February 1101 7 January 1114 23 May 1125 10 September 1167 Henry VPictureNameFatherBirthMarriageBecame QueenBecame EmpressCeased to be ConsortDeathSpouse
House of Supplinburg PictureNameFatherBirthMarriageBecame QueenBecame EmpressCeased to be ConsortDeathSpouse Richenza of Northeim Henry the Fat, Margrave of Frisia c.1087–89 c.1100 30 August 1125 4 June 1133 4 December 1137 10 June 1141 Lothair IIIPictureNameFatherBirthMarriageBecame QueenBecame EmpressCeased to be ConsortDeathSpouse
House of Hohenstaufen (1) PictureNameFatherBirthMarriageBecame QueenBecame EmpressCeased to be ConsortDeathSpouse Gertrud von KomburgQueen of the Romans in opposition Henry, Count of Rothenburg c.1115 1127husband King in opposition never Empress c.1130-1131 Conrad III Gertrude of Sulzbach Berengar II, Count of Sulzbach 1136 7 March 1138 never Empress 14 April 1146 Adelheid of Vohburg Diepold III, Margrave of Vohburg c.1128 1147 4 March 1152 never Empress March 1153marriage annulled after 1187 Frederick I Beatrice I, Countess of Burgundy Renaud III, Count of Burgundy 1148 9 June 1156 15 November 1184 Constance of Sicily Roger II, King of Sicily(Hauteville) 1154 27 January 1186 14 April 1191 28 September 1197 27 November 1198 Henry VI Irene Angelina Isaac II Angelos, Byzantine Emperor 1177–1181 25 May 1197 6 March 1198 never Empress 21 August 1208 27 August 1208 Philip of SwabiaPictureNameFatherBirthMarriageBecame QueenBecame EmpressCeased to be ConsortDeathSpouse
House of Welf PictureNameFatherBirthMarriageBecame QueenBecame EmpressCeased to be ConsortDeathSpouse Beatrice of Swabia Philip, King of Germany(Hohenstaufen) 1198 1209 or 1212 1212 Otto IVPictureNameFatherBirthMarriageBecame QueenBecame EmpressCeased to be ConsortDeathSpouse
House of Hohenstaufen (2) PictureNameFatherBirthMarriageBecame QueenBecame EmpressCeased to be ConsortDeathSpouse Constance of Aragon Alfonso II, King of Aragon 1179 5 August 1209 1211–1212husband as King in opposition/5 July 1215husband unopposed 22 November 1220 23 April 1220Ceased to be Queen: son elected as King; 23 June 1222Ceased to be Empress upon death Frederick II Isabelle of Brienne John of Brienne, King of Jerusalem 1212 9 November 1225 25 April 1228 Isabella of England John, King of England 1214 15/20 July 1235 1 December 1241 Bianca Lancia a child of Manfred I Lancia (one of his sons, Manfred II or Bonifacio, or one daughter, Bianca) c.1200 c.1244?Evidence for marriage is dubious never German Queen c.1244?evidence for marriage is dubious c.1244 Margaret of AustriaQueen of the Romans Leopold VI of Babenberg, Duke of Austria c.1204 29 November 1225Queen by marriage:husband was King under his father, Frederick II;23 March 1227 Crowned as Queen never Empress 4 July 1235 husband dethroned; 12 February 1242 husband's death 29 October 1266 Henry, King of the Romans Elisabeth of BavariaQueen of the Romans Otto II Wittelsbach, Duke of Bavaria 1227 1 September 1246 never Empress 21 May 1254 9 October 1273 Conrad IVPictureNameHouseFatherMarriageBecame QueenBecame EmpressCeased to be ConsortDeathSpouse
House of Habsburg (1) PictureNameFatherBirthMarriageBecame QueenBecame EmpressCeased to be ConsortDeathSpouse Gertrude of HohenbergQueen of the Romans Burchard V, Count of Hohenburg 1225 1245 29 September 1273 never Empress 16 February 1281 Rudolph I Isabelle of BurgundyQueen of the Romans Hugh IV, Duke of Burgundy c.1270 6 February 1284 never Empress 15 July 1291 husband's death c.1323PictureNameFatherBirthMarriageBecame QueenBecame EmpressCeased to be ConsortDeathSpouse
House of Nassau PictureNameFatherBirthMarriageBecame QueenBecame EmpressCeased to be ConsortDeathSpouse Imagina of Isenburg-Limburg Gerlach IV of Isenburg-Limburg(Isenburg-Limburg) 1259 1271 5 May 1292 never Empress 23 June 1298 29 September 1313Adolf of Nassau-WeilburgPictureNameFatherBirthMarriageBecame QueenBecame EmpressCeased to be ConsortDeathSpouse
House of Habsburg (2) PictureNameFatherBirthMarriageBecame QueenBecame EmpressCeased to be ConsortDeathSpouse Elisabeth of TirolQueen of the Romans Meinhard, Duke of Carinthia c.1262 20 December 1274 27 July 1298 never Empress 1 May 1308 28 October 1312 Albert IPictureNameFatherBirthMarriageBecame QueenBecame EmpressCeased to be ConsortDeathSpouse
House of Luxemburg (1) PictureNameFatherBirthMarriageBecame QueenBecame EmpressCeased to be ConsortDeathSpouse Margaret of BrabantQueen of the Romans John I, Duke of Brabant 4 October 1276 9 July 1292 27 November 1308 never Empress 14 December 1311 Henry VIIPictureNameFatherBirthMarriageBecame QueenBecame EmpressCeased to be ConsortDeathSpouse
House of Habsburg (3) PictureNameFatherBirthMarriageBecame QueenBecame EmpressCeased to be ConsortDeathSpouse Isabella of AragonQueen of the Romans James II of Barcelona, King of Aragon and Sicily 1296 11 May 1314 19 October 1315husband's election (in opposition)/ 5 September 1325husband recognised as co-King never Empress 28 September 1322husband abandons claim/13 January 1330husband's death 12 July 1330 Frederick the HandsomePictureNameFatherBirthMarriageBecame QueenBecame EmpressCeased to be ConsortDeathSpouse
House of Wittelsbach (1) PictureNameFatherBirthMarriageBecame QueenBecame EmpressCeased to be ConsortDeathSpouse Beatrix of ŚwidnicaQueen of the Romans Bolko I, Duke of Świdnica 1290 1308 20 October 1314husband's election never Empress 24 August 1322 Louis IV Margaret, Countess of Hainaut William of Avesnes, Count of Hainaut 1311 26 February 1324 January 1328 11 October 1347 23 June 1356PictureNameFatherBirthMarriageBecame QueenBecame EmpressCeased to be ConsortDeathSpouse
House of Luxemburg (2) PictureNameFatherBirthMarriageBecame QueenBecame EmpressCeased to be ConsortDeathSpouse Blanche of ValoisQueen of the Romans Charles of Valois 1316 May 1329 11 July 1346husband's election (in opposition) never Empress 1 August 1348 Charles IV, Holy Roman Emperor Anna of BavariaQueen of the Romans Rudolf II, Duke of Bavaria(Wittelsbach) 26 September 1329 4 March 1349 17 June 1349husband's election (without opposition) never Empress 2 February 1353 Anna of Świdnica Henry II, Duke of Świdnica c. 1339 27 May 1353 5 April 1355coronation with husband 11 July 1362 Elizabeth of Pomerania Bogislav V, Duke of Pomerania 1347 21 May 1363 1 November 1368coronation 29 November 1378 husband's death 14 February 1393 Johanna of BavariaQueen of the Romans Albert I, Duke of Bavaria(Wittelsbach) c. 1362 29 September 1370 10 June 1376 never Empress 31 December 1386 Wenceslaus, King of the Romans Sofia of BavariaQueen of the Romans John II, Duke of Bavaria(Wittelsbach) 1376 2 May 1389 never Empress 20 August 1400husband's deposition 26 September 1425PictureNameFatherBirthMarriageBecame QueenBecame EmpressCeased to be ConsortDeathSpouse
House of Wittelsbach (2)