A prince consort is the husband of a queen regnant who is not himself a king in his own right. In recognition of his status, a prince consort may be given a formal title, such as Prince, Prince Consort or King consort, with 'Prince' being the most common. However, most monarchies do not have formal rules on the styling of princes consort, and a prince consort may have no royal title. Exceptions exist such as in the case of Prince Bernhard of Lippe-Biesterfeld. Prince Consort (capitalized) is a formal title. Prince Albert is the only spouse of a British queen to have held it: it was awarded to him in 1857 by his wife, Queen Victoria (reigned 1837–1901). In 2005, Prince Henrik, the spouse of Margrethe II of Denmark, was awarded the same title. In 2016, Prince Henrik announced that he would no longer use the title. Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh (husband of Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom and Commonwealth realms) is a Prince of the United Kingdom but is not Prince Consort. There was a suggestion to name Prince Philip as Prince Consort prior to 1957's letters patent regarding his title and on their 60th wedding anniversary in 2007, but Prince Albert remains the only spouse of a British monarch to have held the title. Neither the descriptive princess consort nor the title 'Princess Consort' has yet been used in Western monarchies, as dynastic wives of kings have been styled queens consort, often with the title 'Queen'. However, Clarence House has announced that when the present Prince of Wales becomes monarch of the United Kingdom, his wife, the Duchess of Cornwall, will have the title Princess Consort rather than Queen as used by previous wives of kings (see princess consort).

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