With the marriage of Prince Charles to Camilla-Parker-Bowles, public interest in the role of a queen was reawakened. In what does queenship consist? What is the difference between a queen and a consort? What are the precedents of queenship, its powers and privileges? Any examination of these questions swiftly demonstrat es the extent to which British Queens have been elemental in the shaping of the nation's history. Elizabeth of York's marriage put an end to generations of civil war, Anne Boleyn's dismantled the Catholic Church. From the wars of the Norman Queen Matilda to the grievous diplomatic meddling of Henrietta Maria, the wives and mothers of British Kings have shaped the monarchy and the direction of the state. Yet an understanding of queenship also reveals the influence of personality on politics to a surprising extent. Familial loyalties and dynastic rivalries, often made manifest in the very person of the Queen, were powerful and essential instrume nts of government. It is this combination of the intimate and the abstract, this synthesis of self and state, which makes the position of Queen so compelling and which will provide the perspective for 'Queens and Consorts!.