A royal consort is the spouse of a reigning king or queen. Consorts of monarchs of the United Kingdom and its predecessors have no constitutional status or power but many have had significant influence. There have been 11 royal consorts since Britain's union of the crowns in 1707, eight women, and three men. Prince Philip, the longest-served and oldest-ever consort, died aged 99 after having served for nearly 70 years. His mother-in-law, Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother, who died aged 101, lived longer than any other royal consort, but at the time of her death she did not hold the position of consort, as her husband King George VI had died 50 years before her. After the death of Prince Philip, the position of royal consort was vacant until the death of Elizabeth II on 8 September 2022. Camilla became the queen consort upon the accession of Elizabeth II's eldest son, Charles III, as King. History Since the union of England and Scotland in 1707, there have been eleven consorts of the British monarch. Queens between 1727 and 1814 were also Electress of Hanover, as their husbands all held the title of Elector of Hanover. Between 1814 and 1837, queens held the title as Queen of Hanover, as their husbands were Kings of Hanover. The personal union with the United Kingdom ended in 1837 on the accession of Queen Victoria because the succession laws (Salic Law) in Hanover prevented a female inheriting the title if there was any surviving male heir (in the United Kingdom, a male took precedence over only his own sisters, until the Succession to the Crown Act 2013 which removed male primogeniture). In the Austro-Prussian War of 1866, Hanover was annexed by Prussia and became the Province of Hanover. Style The wife of the reigning King has typically been styled as "Her Majesty The Queen" and is addressed as "Her Majesty" or "Your Majesty" (When addressing directly). While upon Charles III's accession to the throne Camilla became "The Queen", she has been styled "The Queen Consort". Buckingham Palace has stated that whether Camilla will eventually be known as "The Queen", as queen consorts traditionally are, is "a question for the future". The husband of a reigning Queen is addressed according to the style he has either been given upon marriage, or prior to marriage - he does not automatically share the same titles, style and honour