Electress

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An Electress was the wife of a Prince-elector of the Holy Roman Empire, one of its most powerful rulers. The Golden Bull of 1356 fixed the number of electors at seven, but three were archbishops who had no consorts. Of the four secular electors, the King of Bohemia’s wife was titled Queen of Bohemia; the other wives were called Electresses. Two more electors were added in 1623 and 1692, and their wives were Electresses as well. In the empire’s last years, a few Electors ruled only briefly, and their wives were Electresses. There was an Elector of Baden, but his marriage was morganatic, so his wife did not share his title. The rulers of Hesse-Kassel kept the Elector title until Prussia annexed the area in 1866. Lists exist of people who bore the title Electress, with separate notes for wives in unequal or morganatic marriages.