Ultimately Marie Antoinette’s death by guillotine in October 1793 was very much a case of wrong place, wrong time. The last note she wrote, on a blank page in her prayer book was:

“My God, have pity on me! My eyes have no more tears to cry for you my poor children; adieu, adieu!”

Did Queen Fredegund really put the evil into Medieval? If accounts are to be believed, she was extremely calculating, cold-blooded and cruel.

Queenship is not a single, simple position. There are queen consorts, queen regents, and queen regnants, each with very different powers, responsibilities, and ways of ruling. Many of us may be surprised to discover just how many types of queens exist!

Becoming familiar with these terms helps us to understand how each queen in history was able to reign over her kingdom.