Worldwide Guide to Women
in Leadership
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
Substates
Also see United Kingdom Traditional Offices, United Kingdom Heads and United Kingdoms Ministers
Go to England, Kent Mercia, Norfolk, Orkney, Scotland V/Wales, Wessex and Isle of Wright
Around 1200 BCE. Queen Camilla of Lathium
Years 400 B.C. Queen Tamyris of a Celtic Tribe
Years 200 B.C. Queen Martia Proba of a Celtic Tribe
Circa 50-71 or 40-60 Queen Cartimandra of The Brigants (Brigantia)
Brigantia was a British tribe in northern England (Yorkshire), during the time
of the Roman invasion of Britain. She ruled Brigantia from A.D. 41-60.
60-61 Queen Boudicca of the Icener-Tribe in Norfolk
Boudica (or Boadicea) was the wife of Prasutagus, king of the Iceni, a British
tribe, at a time when Britain was a Roman province. She fought the Romans but in
the end she lost, and. Boudica and her daughters escaped but then poisoned themselves rather
than allow capture. She lived (15-61)
Kingdom of England
1196-1261 Countess and Sheriff of Salisbury Ela
d'Evereux Longspee
1226-28 and 1131-36 Countess of Wiltshire
1240-57 Abbess of Lacock
The daughter of
William d'Everux, Earl of Salisbury,
she was married to William
Longspee, Earl of Salisbury (d. 1226),
natural son of Henry II. She lived (1187-1261)
1216-18 Sheriff of Lincolnshire Lady Nicola de la Hay
Appointed Sheriff by Prince John and King Henry III together with Phillip Mar of
Nottingham. She was married to Gerad de Camville and succeeded her father as
Lady de la Hay. She lived (circa 1160-ca.1218)
1338-77 Lord Marshal of England, Margaret of Norflolk
Jointly with the
Lord High Constable she headed the
College of Arms, the body concerned with all
matters of
genealogy and
heraldry, although the Earl Marshall's
connection with heraldry came about almost accidentally. In conjunction with the
Lord High Constable he had held a court, known as the
Court of Chivalry, for the administration of
justice in accordance with the
law of arms, which was concerned with many
subjects relating to military matters, such as ransom, booty and soldiers'
wages, and including the misuse of armorial
bearings. The Marshall, as eighth
Officer of State, has to organise coronations
and the State Opening of
Parliament.
1373-99 Hereditary
Constable of England Eleanor de Bohun, Hereditary Countess of Essex
Daughter of Humphrey de Bohun (1342-73). Her husband Thomas of Woodstock was
recognised as Constable of England, de iure uxoris. He was created Earl of
Buckingham in 1377 and succeeded as Earl of Essex 1380, in right of his wife
after she came of age. He was created Duke of Gloucester in 1385 and was
murdered in 1397. Her daughter, Anne of Woodstock, became Countess of Buckinham,
Hereford and Northhamton in 1399 in succession to her aunt, Mary de Bohun and
her husband, King Henry IV of England. Eleanor lived (circa 1366-99)
1643-76 Hereditary High Sheriff Lady Anne Clifford of Westmoreland
Kingdom of Kent
664-66 Regent Dowager Queen
Sexburga of East Anglia
The eldest daughter of King Anna of East Anglia and his second wife, Saewara.
She married King Erconbert of Kent, who died of the "yellow plague" that
desolated England in AD 664 and, in widowhood, Sexburga was regent on behalf of
her son, Egbert I. Afterwards she became abbess of Minister-in-Sheppey and later
of Ely, where her sister, St. Etheldreda of Ely had been Abbess. Another sister
and both of her daughters; Ermengilda and Ercongota were Saint and the sam was
the case of her grandchildren; St. Werburga of Chester, St. Wulfade and St.
Rufinus. She lived (circa 636-around 700).
Kingdom of Mercia
Circa 772-98 Co-reigning Queen Cynethryth
Together with husband, King Offa
911-918 Sovereign Lady Æthelflæd of Mercians
Also known as Ethelfleda, Eþeleda, Aethelfled, Æthelfleda or Æthelflæd) she
became ruler after her husband, Aethelred or Ethelred, Earl of Mercia, died
after the Battle of Tettenhall, she became ruler of the territory. She was a
formidable military leader and tactician. She ruled for five years from the
newly fortified capital at Stafford, and under her reign, it is likely that the
English county of Staffordshire first came into being. She fortified her
existing borders and re-took Derby. She died in 918, and is buried at
Gloucester. She was joint lady of the Mercians along with her young daughter
Aelfwynn, who was later deposed by King Edward the Elder, Æthelflæd's brother.
She was daughter of King Alfred of Wessex and lived (872-918).
918-20 Sovereign Lady Ælfwyn of Mercians
Also known as Aelfwynn, she succeeded her mother, Lady Æthelflæd. Chroniclers
have noticed the right of Aelfwynn so precisely as to leave no doubt concerning
her claim; and this fact is of considerable value in showing that, contrary to
the practice of other Teutonic nations, the sovereign authority amongst the
Anglo-Saxons might descend to a female. But her uncle, King Edward of Wessex,
occupied the town and received the submission of the Mercians, and in December
of the same year, he deprived her "of all authority among the Mercians" and took
her away to Wessex, where she seems to have spend the rest of her life in a
nunnery. (d. 1007?).
Duchy Norfolk
1338-99 Duchess Margaret
1476-91 Countess Anne Mowbray
County of Orkney
954-55 and 976-77 Countess Regnant Gunnhilda
Around 1130 Countess Margaret Håkonsdatter
She was married to Madoch, Earl of Athol. A son was born 1130, and she was born around
1108.
Circa 1329-circa 53 Malise
1737-56 2nd Countess Anne Hamilton of Orkney
She was married to William O'Brien, 4th Earl of Inchiquin. Mother of four sons
who all died, and succeeded by daughter. She was titlular
Countess and did not reside on the Orkney Islands.
1756-91 3rd Countess Mary O'Brien of Orkney
She was Married to Murrough O'Brien, 1st Marquis of Thomond.
179?-1831 4th Countess Mary O'Bryen of Orkney
Kingdom of Scotland
1234-90 Lady Devorguilla MacDowall of Galloway
Her father, Lord Alan FitzRoland of Galloway, was the last of the MacFergus
dynasty of quasi-independent Lords of Galloway in the south-west of
Scotland. He was also hereditary Constable of Scotland. When he died his
possessions were devided among her and her two surviving sisters. She passed the
Lordship of Galloway and heirship of the crown to her son John I Balliol, King
of Scotland (1992-96), by her husband, John, 5th Baron de Balliol and her son John Balliol was king of
Scotland for four years. Devorguilla endowed a college for the poor which later
became Balliol College. Her mother was Margaret of Huntingdon, the daughter of
David of Scotland, 8th Earl of Huntingdon, grand-son of the Scottish king David
I. She lived (circa 1210-90).
1286-90 Queen Margaret, The Maid of Norway
She was daughter of Princess Margaret and succeeded her grandfather King Alexander III
of Scotland. Her death on the way from Norway to Scotland meant civil war over
the succession in, since there were no other close heirs to the throne
1390-1401 Queen Anabella Drumond
She was very powerful during the reign of her husband, Robert Johan Stuart of
Kyle, who was partly paralyzed. In 1398 she had her son, David, Duke of Rothsay
appointed regent. Husband succeeded by second son, James I.
1437-39 Regent Dowager Queen Joan Beaufort
Widow of James I and regent for son James II
1460-63 Regent Dowager Queen Maria de Guelders
Widow of James III and regent for son James III until her death
1513-14 Regent Dowager Queen Margaret Tudor
She was married to James IV of Scotland; daughter of Henry VII of England and
sister of Henry VIII. Her husband was killed and she became regent for her
infant son, James V. She lived (1489–1541).
1552-67/87 Queen Mary Stuart
She became Queen of Scotland when she
was just six days old. At age five she was sent to France to be brought up in
the French court, and eventually married King Francis II, who died the next year.
A widow, Mary returned to Scotland where a series of politically unwise love
affairs and her continued adherence to Catholicism in a Protestant country led
to trouble and a revolt against her. Forced to flee to England for refuge, she
now faced the fears of Queen Elizabeth I who saw her as a rival to her throne.
Elizabeth kept Mary under a form of imprisonment for the next 19 years. Watched
closely, she was implicated in a series of conspiracies against Queen Elizabeth,
and was executed.
1554-60 Regent Dowager Queen Mary de Guise
Married to James V of Scotland and regent for her daughter, Mary Queen of
Scots. She
lived (1515-60)
1717-58 18th Hereditary Lord High Constable and Knight Marischal of
Scotland, The 14th Countess of Erroll
Mary Hay was the Senior Great Officer Royal Office of Scotland and Chief of the
King's Household in Scotland. She succeeded to the title in 1717 when she also
became Lady Hay and Baroness of Stain, 23rd Chief of the Hays (since 1171) and
Mac Garaidh Mhar (a celtic title) etc., etc. She succeeded her brother and was
succeeded by her sister's grandson.
1824-40 Head of the Sovereign Family, Titular
Queen Mary III and II of England, Scotland, France and Ireland, Defender of the
Faith
Maria Beatrice Vittoria Giuseppina di Savoia was the eldest daughter of Don
Vittorio Emanuele di Savoia, Duke of Aosta, later king of Sardinia and
Archduchess Maria Theresa of Austria-Este. 1812 Mary Beatrice married her uncle,
Archduke Francis of Austria, Duke of Modena, with special dispensation for the
marriage was received from the Holy See. After her father's death she was
recognized by the Jacobites as "Queen Mary III and II". She was called "Queen
Mary II" by those Jacobites who do not number Mary Stuart as Mary II of England.
She lived (1792-1840).
1875-1919 Head of the Sovereign Family, Titular Queen
Mary IV and III of England, Scotland, France and Ireland, Defender of the Faith
Marie Therese von Habsburg-Lothringen, Archduchess of Austria, Princess of
Hungary-Bohemia and Modena, succeeded her uncle as claimant of the Jacobite
throne of Scotland and England. Her grandmother was Mary III and II Beatrice of
Modena (1824-40). Marie Therese descended from a sister of the last Stuart-kings
of England and Scotland. She was married to Ludwig, King of Bavaria (1913-1918).
Her grandson, Francis II, Duke of Bavaria has been claimant since 1996. His
brother, Max Emanuel is heir and his oldest daughter, the Hereditary Princess
Sophia von und zu Liechtenstein, is next in line for the succession. One of
Marie Theresa's half-sisters by her mother's second marriage, Queen
Maria-Cristina of Spain was regent for her son (1885-1902). Marie Therese had
five children and lived (1849-1919).
1941-78 27th Hereditary Lord High Constable and
Knight Marischal of Scotland, The 23rd Countess of Erroll
Diana D. Hay was the Senior Great Officer Royal Office of Scotland and Chief of
the Monarch's Household in Scotland, President of the Court of the Verge etc.
etc. She succeeded to the title in 1941 when she also became Lady Hay and
Baroness of Stain, 32th Chief of the Hays (since 1171) and Mac Garaidh Mhar (a
celtic title). She was succeeded by her son, Martin Hay. She lived (1926-78)
Territorial Counties in Scotland
County of Athol
1211-37 4th Countess Isabella
1242-44 6th Countess Forflissa of Galloway
1244 7th Countess Ada Hastings
County of Mar
1377-88 Territorial Countess
Margaret Mormaer of Mar, Lady Garioch
Succeeded her brother,
Thomas Mormaer, 9th Earl of Mar (circa 1330-1377). She had married William, first Earl of Douglas,
who was succeeded by their son, James. 2. Earl of Douglas and Earl of Mar and Garioch in right of his
mother, and when he fell, leading the Scots at the battle of Otterburn. he was
succeeded by her daughter, Isabel, who became owner of the
Earldom of Mar and the Lordship of the Garioch and became the owner the unentailed lands of the House of Douglas.
Circa 1388-1408
Territorial Countess Isabel Douglas of Mar, Lady of Garioch
In 1390, Robert III. granted to his brother-in-law, Sir Malcolm Drummond, Lord
of Mar in right of his wife, the 11th Countess, a licence to erect a tower on
the lands of Castletown of Braemar. The King, in 1393, granted to Sir Malcolm by
charter, forty pounds sterling per annum from the great custom of Aberdeen,
until the King shall give him forty pounds worth of lands. In 1402 he was
murdered by Alexander Stewart.
In the summer of 1404 Alexander Stewart captured her castle and forced her to sign a charter on August 12, 1404. She
revoked the charter later that year, but on marrying him, she gave him the
earldom for life; the King confirmed her last action the next year. She lived (c. 1360-1408)
1975- Margaret of Mar, 31st Countess of
Mar
Member of the House of Lords
from 1975 and a Deputy Speaker 1999–2007. The next in line are her daughter
Susan of Mar, Mistress of Mar (1963-) and granddaughter Isabel of Mar (1991-)
County of Sutherland
1515-35 10th Countess Elizabeth
She succeeded her brother John by "infeftment"
of 1515 after a protracted
lawsuit and some bloodshed, became Countess of Sutherland in her own right. She resigning the earldom to her eldest son Alexander, the ancestor of the
family of Gordon, Earls of Sutherland. The earls would not bear the name of
Sutherland again until William Sutherland, the 17th Earl, adopted it. She was
succeeded in 1530 by her grandson, the 11th Earl ("Good John Earl").
(d. 1535).
1771-1839 19th Countess Elizabeth
Gordon
She was one year old when her father, William, the 18th Earl of Sutherland, and
her mother both died in 1766. In the lawsuit that followed, known as the "Sutherland
Peerage Case", the old Sutherland house of Forse claimed superior rights, but
the verdict was finally given in favor of the infant countess in 1771. Elizabeth
married an Englishman, George Granville Leveson-Gower whose father, the Earl of
Gower, was created the Marquess of Stafford, titles to which he himself
succeeded in 1803. As the husband of a great landed heiress, to whose
inheritance he added substantial acreages of his own at Trentham in
Staffordshire and Lilleshall in Shropshire, Lord Stafford had considerable
influence, becoming the 1st Duke of Sutherland. She lived
(1765-1839).
1963- 24th Countess of
Elizabeth Sutherland-Leveson-Gower
She succeeded her uncle, The 5th Duke of Sutherland, George Granville Sutherland,
who held several
ministerial offices. Her father, Lord Alistair
Sutherland-Leveson-Gower M.C. who had died in 1921. She is married to
Charles Janson and they have three sons and a daughter. The Dukedom was
inherited by another male relative.
County Ross (Check this information)
1372-94/95 Countess Euphemia I
Ross
First married to John Randolph Earl
of Moray and then to King Robert II of Scotland. Their son,
David, Earl Palatine of Strathearn and Earl of Caithness
(circa 1356-89) had one daughter and
Euphemla, Countess Palatine of Steathearn and Countess of
Caithness, which latter Earldom she resigned to her uncle, Walter
Leslie
1402-15 Countess Eupemia II
Leslie
In succssion to Alexander. After her death, the County was vacant until Johan
Stewart, Earl of Buchan became Earl.
1424-36 Margaret Leslie
1908-68 Chief of Ross Miss Ross of Pitcalnie
Counties in England
1361-69 Heiress to the Palatinate of Lancaster Blanche of Grosmont
At the time of the death of her father, Henry of Grosmont, 1st Duke of
Lancaster, she received half of his lands, her husband and cousin, John of
Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster, Earl of Derby,
Earl of Lincoln and Earl of Leicester. The influence associated with the titles
would lead him to become Lord High Steward of England, and they became
distinction the greatest landowner in the north of England. Her her elder sister, Maud, Countess of
Leicester, inherited the other half of their father's land and after her death,
it was reunited with John, whose second wife was the titular Queen
Constanza of Castilla. Blanche died of Bubonic
plague and lived (circa 1345-69)
1373-99 Hereditary Constable
of England Eleanor de Bohun, Hereditary Countess of Essex
Daughter of Humphrey de Bohun (1342-73). Her husband Thomas of Woodstock was
recognised as Constable of England, de iure uxoris. He was created Earl of
Buckingham in 1377 and succeeded as Earl of Essex 1380, in right of his wife
after she came of age. He was created Duke of Gloucester in 1385 and was
murdered in 1397. Her daughter, Anne of Woodstock, became Countess of Buckinham,
Hereford and Northhamton in 1399 in succession to her aunt, Mary de Bohun and
her husband, King Henry IV of England. Eleanor lived (circa 1366-99)
1373-94 Hereditary Countess Mary
de Bohun, of Northampton and Hereford
Second daughter of Humphry de Bohun, She was married to Henry, Earl of Derby,
who was created Earl of Northampton and Earl of Hereford in right of his wife in
1384, and He succeeded in 1399 as king Henry IV of England. She died in
childbed, and lived (circa 1369-94)
1399-1438 Anne of Woodstock, Countess of
Buckingham, Hereford and Northampton,
Her father, Thomas, Duke of Gloucester and Earl of Buckingham was murdered
in 1397 and his brother, Humphrey de Bohun, Duke of Glouceste, died in
1399, and she inherited the lands and titles of the family and became a Countess
in her owh right. She was first
married to Thomas, 3rd Earl of Stafford (d. 1392), secondly to
Edmund, 5th Earl of Stafford (d. 1403) and third to Sir William Bourchier,
Comte d'Eu (d. .1420). Succeeded by son, Humphrey Stafford, Earl of
Stafford, who in 1444 was created duke of Buckingham. She lived (1383-1438)
Principality of Wales
Before 825 Queen Ethil of Gwynedd
.....Princess Nest of Deheubarth
....Queen Angharad Ferch Llewelyn of Powys
Before 825 Queen Angharad Ferch Maredudd of Powys
1107 Dame Mable FitzHamon of Gloucester-Glamorgan and Eurecy et Ste.
Scolasse-sur-Sarthe (Normandy)
Her husband, Robert FitzRoy, Son of Henry I of England, was given title of Earl
of Gloucester in 1121. He died 1147
1282-1337 Hereditary Princess Gwenllian de Montfort
of Wales,
Gwynedd and the royal family of Aberffraw
The last true born Princess of Wales was the daughter of Llywelyn the Last and his cousin Eleanor de
Montfort, daughter of Simon de Montfort. Her mother died in childbirth at the
palace of Pen-y-Bryn, in Abergwyngregyn near Bangor, Gwynedd on 12 June 1282,
and her father was killed at Irfon Bridge a few weeks later, becoming
therefore the only child of the marriage.
There were no sons to inherit the title of Prince of Wales, but as the
daughter of Prince Llywelyn, hhe was the heiress of the Princes of
Gwynedd and the royal family of Aberffraw. She thereby was the Princess of Wales and
as a result represented considerable danger to the king of England. Were it
not for their close family ties it is likely that the king would have arranged
for her too to be killed.
Instead, the king, Edward I, had her hauled off to Sempringham Convent in
Lincolnshire, where she spent over 50 years incarcerated.
Edward kept the title of 'Prince of Wales' for the crown, bestowing it upon
his son Edward who was crowned in Caernarfon in 1301 aged 17 years. Hence the
title passed as a grace title bestowable by the English monarchy. She lived
(1282-1337).
1295-1307 Joan of Acre, Lady of Glamorgan and Wales
1314-17 Eleanore de Clare, Lady of Glamorgan and Wales
1445-49 Anne Beauchamps, Lady of Glamorgan and Wales
1449-50 Anne Beauchamps-Neville, Lady of Glamorgan and Wales
She succeeded her brother's daughter
Kingdom of Wessex (or Cenwalh)
67-74 Queen Sexburh
67-74 Queen Sexburh
Lordship of Isle of Wight
1262-93 Isabelle de Devon, Dame of Isle of Wright
After her death, the island passed to the English throne. In 1260-62 she had
been regent of the County of Aumale in France and the English counties of
Holderness, Skipton and Cockermouth for son.
1896-1944 Governor Princess Beatrice of Great Britain
Last update 02.11.14