Can a Regent also be Royal Consort?

[Patrick-Leigh]

I’m developing the background for a recurring character named Queen Tatianna, the ruler of Orphines. I’ve decided that she was the youngest of her siblings (not sure how many) and the only one to survive. Her father was a tyrant and when he realized she would be his only successor, he feared all his work would be undone. (He was right, ultimately, but not for the reasons he thought.) However, he could not stand the idea of his line not being carried on, so he tried to arrange things so both his legacy and line would be preserved.

My thinking is that as it became clear his death was imminent, he arranged for his most loyal advisor to be made Regent, as Tatianna was too young to rule, with the stipulation that when she turned 16, she would marry the Regent, making him Royal Consort as well. For some reason, the Consort retains all his authority as Regent, making Tatianna a figurehead. The goal is for her to not have any means to stop him from doing some stupid things so she has a big mess to clean up after he dies unexpectedly. (No, she doesn’t kill him. He dies of a stroke while banging his mistress.)

What I need to determine is:
1. Why can’t the Regent be made King after he marries Tatianna? He cannot actually wear the crown. I want this guy to be a Wormtongue type character who talked the previous king into setting things up like this. He cannot be of sufficient rank to be made King but he is the de facto ruler of Orphines.

2. How can he be both Regent and Royal Consort? I can’t find any information that suggests that you can be both. I’m fine having this situation be highly unorthodox in-universe, mind you, but I want to make sure the justification is plausible sounding.

3. Why does the Royal Consort retain all his powers as Regent even after Tatianna is old enough to be made Queen in a ruling capacity? Again, I’m fine with such an arrangement being strange in-universe, but I need this guy to be the de facto ruler for the first decade or so of Tatianna’s rule. Could there be a condition she has to meet, like bearing a male heir, before she’s allowed to fully take power? Then the Regent/Consort could somehow keep her from getting pregnant (perhaps through a “deal with the Devil” that carries a price that leads to his death?)

The goal is for most of the nobles to be on the side of the Regent/Consort, at least at face value (he has few truly loyal followers) while the common people are on the side of Tatianna. When the Regent/Consort dies, the biggest obstacle to Tatianna truly being in charge is removed and it’s a whole new ball game.

Any suggestions on how to make this arrangement sound plausible?

 

[pmmg]

Typically, when the King dies, and a heir is too young, someone like a Regent gains power...who then quietly kills off the heirs and keeps the throne.

Also typical is to keep the most important title...so if Regent is greater than consort, he'd remain Regent.




1. Why can’t the Regent be made King after he marries Tatianna? He cannot actually wear the crown. I want this guy to be a Wormtongue type character who talked the previous king into setting things up like this. He cannot be of sufficient rank to be made King but he is the de facto ruler of Orphines.


There culture does not allow it. Perhaps he is not of the right blood line, or is a foreigner, who by law, cannot be king.

2. How can he be both Regent and Royal Consort? I can’t find any information that suggests that you can be both. I’m fine having this situation be highly unorthodox in-universe, mind you, but I want to make sure the justification is plausible sounding.


He'd probably just be called one, even if the other was true. Or, he'd have a new title. If he's married to her, would he be a consort? He'd probably be a prince, or a co-ruler or such.


3. Why does the Royal Consort retain all his powers as Regent even after Tatianna is old enough to be made Queen in a ruling capacity? Again, I’m fine with such an arrangement being strange in-universe, but I need this guy to be the de facto ruler for the first decade or so of Tatianna’s rule. Could there be a condition she has to meet, like bearing a male heir, before she’s allowed to fully take power? Then the Regent/Consort could somehow keep her from getting pregnant (perhaps through a “deal with the Devil” that carries a price that leads to his death?)

Cause he better at it than she is, and more people have loyalty to him.

There a rule, if you tell people to do something, and they do it, you are in authority. But if they dont, then you are not likely the one in control. Many Kings and Queens have come to learn this lesson.


Any suggestions on how to make this arrangement sound plausible?

I think it is plausible already. I could point to King Tut and his sister as to how this story might play out. Or the princes in the tower.... Or even Aladdin.

To me, the unplausible part is that the people support her, while the noble's don't. If the noble's dont support her, she wont become ruler--But, you know, fantasy.

 

[Queshire]

The regent wanting to hold onto power after the queen comes of age and marrying the queen to maintain the image of legitimacy is simple enough.

As for the regent not becoming king as a result, there could be a well established law saying only those from a certain bloodline can claim the title and so marrying into the family doesn't matter. Alternatively, if you like magic then some curse that horribly kills the unworthy if they try to take the throne is a classic.

 

[Finchbearer]

It’s plausible if you make it plausible, but plausibility and likelihood are two different things. I’d think it unlikely, seeing as a regent stops becoming a regent once or if they become a consort (spouse to a monarch). And this role would also undermine and cause power struggles with the rightful heir to the throne.

I am already asking other questions though such as what level of importance a hereditary heir is in this society? What are the advisors origins, and can they be trusted? Are they even liked within the royal household or with the people the monarchy rule over? How would this regent manage their vassals and nobles and are they likely or unlikely to be undermined or overthrown by someone else? The young Queen would be unlikely to not have her own household and flurry of advisors depending on the level of sophistication within this monarchy, and so does she have her own loyal following independent of the regent / former advisor? How thuggish is the advisor? Are they willing to overthrow the monarchy?

 

[Prince of Spires]

1. Why can’t the Regent be made King after he marries Tatianna? He cannot actually wear the crown. I want this guy to be a Wormtongue type character who talked the previous king into setting things up like this. He cannot be of sufficient rank to be made King but he is the de facto ruler of Orphines.

There can be easy cultural reasons why he doesn't become king. You could look to the Netherlands for a real world example. We previously had a queen as official head of state. She was the queen because she was the first child born of the previous queen. As in, she was a direct descendant in the royal line. When she maried, her husband didn't become king, rather, he received a title which translates to something like "Queen Consort." The reasoning being that in everyday language, if there are both a king and a queen, the king is assumed to be the head of state. Therefore, by not naming him king, we avoided this issue.

So he simply isn't of the royal bloodline, therefore he isn't king. Instead he's Queen Consort (or whatever you want to call him).

2. How can he be both Regent and Royal Consort? I can’t find any information that suggests that you can be both. I’m fine having this situation be highly unorthodox in-universe, mind you, but I want to make sure the justification is plausible sounding.

He can't. It's by definition impossible. Once your princess becomes of age and becomes the queen, then the role of regent disappears. A regent is someone who rules in place of an underage king or queen. By definition then, he stops being regent once your queen becomes queen. The whole title of regent at this point doesn't exist anymore.

The one exception might be if he somehow creates a situation in which the queen can't rule (at least on paper), for instance because she's mentally or physically deemed unfit to do so.

3. Why does the Royal Consort retain all his powers as Regent even after Tatianna is old enough to be made Queen in a ruling capacity?

People only have power because other people let them have that power and listen to them. It might sound very vague and philosophical, but it's true. If simply no one listens to your queen, then she has no power whatsover. She'd be a figurehead.

Any ruler rules by giving orders to other people. You want to attack a different country? Then you tell your army to go to X. You can't do that by yourself. You want to institute a different tax policy? Then you tell your tax collectors to start doing X. You don't actually go door to door to collect that tax. Therefore, if no one listens to you but instead looks to your regent for decisions, then she has no power at all.

It's actually very common. You could again look to modern constitutional monarchies in the west. On paper the Netherlands has a king, who signs laws into effect and appoints a government and all that. However, in practice, he has no real power. He has no say over the laws he signs. He simply gets a piece of paper and is told where to put his signature. Same with forming the government. He has no say in the process. All he gets to do is take a photo with them once the whole process is completed.