Many thanks to the team at Abbeville Press, and editor Amy K. Hughes, for bringing this book together. I am also grateful to Paul Bucca, Stacy Bucca, Jonathan Bucca, and Allison O’Flinn, for their unfailing support, and to Perry Orthey, for always encouraging me.
—Lauren Bucca
Front cover and p. 114 (detail): Queen Elizabeth I, c. 1600–1610. See p. 171.
Back cover: Bust of Nefertiti, 1352–32 BCE . See p. 23.
Front endpapers: Mortuary Temple of Hatshepsut. Photo by Ijanderson977. Back endpapers: Principal facade of Buckingham Palace. Photo by Diego Delso.
p. 2: Vigilius Eriksen (1722–1782). Portrait of Catherine II of Russia in Front of a Mirror (detail), 1762–64. See p. 242.
p. 6: Seated Portrait of Ningzong’s Empress (detail), c. 1202–33. See p. 103.
p. 14: Seated Statue of Hatshepsut (detail), c. 1479–58 BCE . See p. 19.
p. 54: Mosaic of Theodora, Basilica of San Vitale, Ravenna, Italy (detail), c. 547. See p. 61. p. 182: Mahadev Visvanath Dhurandhar (1867–1944). Tarabai—Founder of the Kolhapur Confederacy (detail), 1927. See p. 219. p. 246: Hubert Vos (1855–1935). H. I. M., the Empress Dowager of China, Cixi (1835–1908) (detail), 1905–6. See p. 264.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Bucca, Lauren, 1991– author.
Title: Queens : women who ruled, from ancient Egypt to Buckingham Palace / by Lauren Bucca.
Other titles: Women who ruled, from ancient Egypt to Buckingham Palace
Description: First edition. | New York : Abbeville Press Publishers, [2021]
| Series: Tiny folio | Includes bibliographical references and index. | Summary: “An illustrated book of queens from around the world throughout time”—Provided by publisher.
Identifiers: LCCN 2020051873 | ISBN 9780789214010 (hardback)
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2020051873
For bulk and premium sales and for text adoption procedures, write to Customer Service Manager, Abbeville Press, 655 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017, or call 1-800-A rt B ook .
Visit Abbeville Press online at www.abbeville.com.
1. ANTIQUITY 2500 BCE–499 CE
The ancient world was anything but peaceful, and if you were royal, it was likely that you wouldn’t have a long life. Family members were quick to turn on one another, and fratricide was commonplace, as was matricide: more than one queen was poisoned by her own son. This period was characterized by the growth of complex civilizations and the development of writing in various parts of the world, including China, India, the Fertile Crescent, Greece, Rome, and Mesoamerica. With powerful goddesses to serve as models, women ruled to a degree that wouldn’t be seen again for centuries, as later societies influenced by written religions relegated women to the private sphere. Women often took charge to avoid a power vacuum in a place where a foreign entity threatened to take the throne, something that happened less often in later eras, when kingdoms were more consolidated. Not every culture has a written history, as many relied on oral traditions; countless ancient records no longer exist. Some societies didn’t write their histories until relatively late, such as Japan, whose earliest recorded history is from the seventh century CE . Other cultures, such as those of the ancient Greeks and Romans,
More Than Appearances
In this sculpture, Nefertiti is distinguished by her elegant, enigmatic features and her idiosyncratic blue crown. Revered throughout history as a beauty, Nefertiti offered much more. In a unique move, Pharaoh Akhenaten elevated her to coruler, and she brought levelheadedness to a reign marked by her husband’s religious extremism and self-aggrandizement. Akhenaten had completely disrupted the order of Egyptian worship and society, which Nefertiti is now credited with helping restore.
NE f E rt I t I , qu EEN C o NS ort of Egypt (r. 1353–1336 BCE ).
(Sculpture, 1352–32 BCE .)
Shaq I lath , qu EEN (C orul E r ) of th E Na B ata E a NS (Ara BI a ) (r. c. early first century CE ).
Significantly expanded international trade during her reign. (Right, with her husband, Aretas IV; coin, 21–22 CE .)
Ama NI tor E , qu EEN of M E roë (Suda N ) (r. 1–20 CE ).
Building projects flourished during her reign, including the restoration of the Temple of Amun. (Relief, first century CE .)
2. MIDDLE AGES
500–1299
Italian humanists, enamored with antiquity, created the term “Middle Ages” to describe the period between the fall of Rome and the Renaissance. The Middle Ages were a culturally rich time, despite what the humanists believed, encompassing creative activity such as the flourishing known as the Islamic Golden Age. Though the term is European, the Middle Ages’ chronological breadth is useful for describing a nearly global trend of artistic production shifting from stone to manuscript illumination and painting. In this period, the world was poised to exalt women as mothers, child bearers, and advisers for kings, rather than as rulers in their own right. It was remarkably uncommon for a woman to claim absolute power. Patriarchal views of women persisted in many cultures and were buoyed by interpretations of religious texts that positioned women as inferior to men.
As in ancient times, the right to reign was often secured by violence, either assassination or war. Women were not typically permitted to be warriors, and it was fighters who seized land and throne. However, this didn’t mean that women were
JI to , C o NS ort (r. 673–686), dowag E r (r. 686–690), a N d E mpr ESS of Japa N (r. 690–697).
She was granted authority over the government after the emperor’s death. (Right; print, c. 1840.)
Komyo , E mpr ESS C o NS ort of Japa N (r. 730–749).
She and her husband became Buddhist priest and nun upon their retirement from royal life. (Print by Ryuryukyo Shinsai, c. 1820–25.)
Sa IN t Tamar th E Gr E at , C o-r E g EN t (r. 1178–1184) a N d qu EEN of G E org I a (r. 1184–1213).
The first woman in Georgia to rule on her own, she divorced her coup-attempting husband, remarried, and consolidated her empire. (Icon.)
I S a BE lla of Ha IN aut , qu EEN C o NS ort of Fra NCE (r. 1180–1190). The king threatened to divorce her, so she traveled as a barefoot penitent throughout the local churches to gain the people’s support. (Seal, c. 1180.)
A Sneaky Dinner Date
In Song China, Yang and a rival, Cao, were both up for the position of empress, to be decided after Emperor Ningzong dined with them separately. To defeat her competitor for the role of empress, Yang pretended to defer to Cao, allowing her to have a banquet first. At Yang’s dinner with the emperor, she convinced him—inebriated from his dinner with Cao—to sign an edict to make her empress. The signed edict was intercepted, but luckily she had another on hand, which the emperor readily inscribed during the evening when no interceptors were about.
Ya N g , E mpr ESS C o NS ort (r. 1202–1217), C o-r E g EN t a N d dowag E r of So N g Ch IN a (r. 1224–1233).
(Painting, c. 1202–33.)
El I za BE th of Au S tr I a , qu EEN C o NS ort of Pola N d (r. 1454–1492).
Though many Renaissance marriages were fraught, Elizabeth was happily married and always traveled with her husband, Casimir IV (pictured). (Painting.)
El I za BE th Woodv I ll E , qu EEN C o NS ort of E N gla N d (r. 1464–1470). She became queen despite not being royal, and used her position to elevate her relatives.
Bar B ara Radz I w I ll , qu EEN C o NS ort of Pola N d (r. 1547–1551).
Reputedly the Polish king, at the time Barbara’s lover, built a tunnel connecting their palaces so they could meet in secret.
(Painting by Lucas Cranach the Younger, c. 1565.)
Cath E r INE d E Méd ICIS , qu EEN C o NS ort (r. 1547–1559) a N d r E g EN t of Fra NCE (r. 1560–1563).
She is traditionally held responsible for instigating the Saint Bartholomew’s Day Massacre, of Huguenots by Catholics. (Engraving by Nicolò Nelli, 1567.)
Soph IE of M EC kl ENB urg-Gü S trow , qu EEN C o NS ort (r. 1572–1588) a N d r E g EN t of D EN mark a N d Norway (r. 1590–1594).
Managed to arrange her daughters’ dowries and her own allowance, despite strong opposition from her council. (Right, with Frederick II; painting by Lucas Cranach the Younger, sixteenth century.)
Margar E t of Valo IS , qu EEN C o NS ort of Navarr E (r. 1572–1599) a N d Fra NCE (r. 1589–1599).
The first woman to have published her memoirs, which record the life of an independent, spirited queen. (Drawing, 1574.)
M EN t E wa B , C o NS ort (r. 1723–1730) a N d E mpr ESS (C orul E r ) of Eth I op I a (r. 1730–1755).
Went head-to-head with her daughter-in-law for the right to ascend the throne—neither won. (Painting, late eighteenth century.)
Mar IE L ES z C zy NS ka , qu EEN C o NS ort of Fra NCE (r. 1725–1768). The longest-serving queen, by marriage to Louis XV, in the history of France. Banished Voltaire from Versailles. (Painting by Charles André van Loo, 1747.)
Sa IN t Al E xa N dra F E odorov N a , E mpr ESS C o NS ort of Ru SSI a (r. 1894–1917).
Her misplaced trust in the mystic Rasputin contributed to her family’s downfall and eventual execution. (Photo by Boasson and Eggler, 1908.)
Lav INI a VEI o N go Fotu , qu EEN C o NS ort of To N ga (Poly NESI a ) (r. 1899–1902).
Became friends with her former rival, though their respective supporters once rioted against one another. (Photographic print, detail, by Frederick Sears, 1900.)
American Impressionism ∙ 978-0-7892-0612-1
Ansel Adams: The National Park Service Photographs ∙ 978-0-7892-0775-3
The Art of Tarot ∙ 978-0-7892-1306-8
Audubon’s Birds of America: The Audubon Society Baby Elephant Folio ∙ 978-0-7892-0814-9
Classic Cocktails ∙ 978-0-7892-1381-5
Fashion: Treasures of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston ∙ 978-0-78921-380-8
Frank Lloyd Wright: America’s Master Architect ∙ 978-0-7892-0227-7
Illuminated Manuscripts: Treasures of the Pierpont Morgan Library, New York ∙ 978-0-7892-0216-1
New York: Treasures of the Museum of the City of New York ∙ 978-0-7892-1361-7
Norman Rockwell: 332 Magazine Covers ∙ 978-0-7892-0409-7
Treasures of the Art Institute of Chicago: Paintings from the 19th Century to the Present ∙ 978-0-7892-1288-7
Treasures of the Brooklyn Museum ∙ 978-0-7892-1278-8
Treasures of Impressionism and Post-Impressionism: National Gallery of Art ∙ 978-0-7892-0491-2
Treasures of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston ∙ 978-0-7892-1233-7
Treasures of the National Museum of the American Indian ∙ 978-0-7892-0841-5
Treasures of the New-York Historical Society ∙ 978-0-7892-1280-1
Treasures of the Prado ∙ 978-0-78920-490-5
The Trees of North America: Michaux and Redouté’s American Masterpiece ∙ 978-0-7892-1402-7
Women Artists: The National Museum of Women in the Arts ∙ 978-0-7892-1053-1
