Whether they were consorts (queens because their husbands were kings), regents (holding the title for their child, usually a son), or regnants (holding the title for themselves, usually with a husband titled “prince”), the queens of England, or as some of these would be, queens of Great Britain, were certainly under immense pressure. Having an heir was always going to be a major pressure point for any queen. For many, as you will soon see, it was a great source of sorrow. Many of the queens on this list experienced grief as a result of losing a companion or kid that they held dear.It’s crucial to keep in mind that a large number of the queens on this list accomplished amazing things and are regarded as powerful and capable leaders. Regardless of the personal tragedies they endured, they were thrust into the spotlight and harshly ridiculed. This occasionally meant that their suffering was caused by the public attention itself. After all, some women continue to face criticism for their own opinions and decisions, which belong only to them.

10. Queen Anne

The first queen regnant of unified Great Britain, Queen Anne (1665–1714), ruled from 1702 to 1714. Although there were benefits to being queen, Anne never had excellent health and was pregnant 17 times during her reign. Regretfully, only one of the 18 children she carried—yes, 18—survived until infancy, while an astounding 13 were miscarried or stillborn. One of the pregnancies was for twins. It is believed that she may have had antiphospholipid syndrome, an immunological condition that raises the chance of blood clots and is not conducive to healthy pregnancies.In addition to the terrible amount of losses Anne experienced, she also had to cope with gout attacks on a regular basis. Five years into her reign as queen, her husband passed away, adding to the already overwhelming challenges she faced. Friends had to convince her to leave his bedside following his passing. It was said that she was experiencing “unspeakable grief.” The Stuart dynasty ended when Anne suffered a series of strokes and died a few years later.[1]

9. Margaret of Anjou

Elizabeth I, Queen Consort of England twice, from 1445 to 1461 and again from 1470 to 1471, was Margaret of Anjou (1430–1482). At the age of fifteen, she wed King Henry VI, an eight-year senior, a controversial match. Her spouse may have suffered from catatonic schizophrenia in 1453, thus a regent had to take over as ruler. Margaret had a fierce rivalry with the opposite ruling style that emerged under Henry’s cousin, the Duke of York, when her attempt to obtain this regency was unsuccessful.As her husband’s condition recovered, Margaret would finally reclaim her position of authority. However, before long, the War of the Roses broke out, and Margaret was forced to defend her son Edward’s legitimate claim to the kingdom. Years of these efforts paid off when her son was apprehended and killed. She was imprisoned for a large portion of her later years, just like many of the queens on this list. She was eventually given to Louis XI to spend the rest of her days in exile back in her own France.[2]

8. Anne Boleyn

Many stories have been claimed about Anne Boleyn (c. 1501–1536), who was Henry VIII’s second wife and the “reason” behind the English exodus from the Catholic Church. She is well known for being a seductress and for having been beheaded, a horrible conclusion to her life. But it’s crucial to acknowledge that she was a vibrant and engaged queen, ready to contribute to the formation of the new Church of England. Regretfully, Henry’s main concern in the end was whether Anne could conceive a son for him. The strain increased after the birth of her daughter Elizabeth and two miscarriages; Anne experienced unfathomable amounts of stress.Everything was disintegrating quickly in 1536. Anne was charged with incest in addition to other charges of adultery. Anne had virtually lost the King’s interest, and Henry was rapidly developing feelings for Jane Seymour, his intended future wife, which made the situation worse. Anne was given a penalty of burning at the stake, which was later modified to beheading, following a trial that had just testimony and no real evidence. During her final weeks, she frantically tried to salvage her life or at least her status, but she was unsuccessful, and her life ended tragically.[3]

7. Mecklenburg-Strelitz’s Charlotte

Beautiful German princess Queen Charlotte (1744–1818) was illiterate on her wedding day to King George III. But she picked things up fast, and the two of them had fifteen kids. For twenty-five years, the king and queen enjoyed a lovely marriage until George III’s terrible craziness caused him to become more and more ill.Charlotte grew more and more distant from George as a result of his improper and ultimately violent actions, until they were leading quite different lives. She finally found fulfillment in the sciences and literary arts, particularly botany, when she overcome the loss of her happiness in her marriage to her partner’s illness.[4]

6. French Henrietta Maria

After marrying Charles I, Henrietta Maria of France (1609–1669) ascended to the throne and faced harsh criticism for her Catholic faith in a Protestant-dominated England for the duration of her reign. As you can imagine, Henrietta Maria faced mounting criticism in the years preceding this catastrophe for the decisions she and her husband were making regarding management—all the way down to the elaborate chapel she had built for herself. Charles I is the one who ultimately lost his head.After developing an issue with her public persona, Henrietta Maria was unable to do much. Following Charles’s execution in 1649, she exclusively wore black clothing and lived a secluded life for the remainder of her days.[5]

5. The Aquitaine Eleanor

During her reign, Eleanor of Aquitaine (1122–1204) held the titles of queen of both France and England. She battled with her husband as France’s queen throughout the Crusades until the pressure of failure drove them apart. Eleanor was a very attractive match and risked kidnapping efforts to force her into another marriage, even though the marriage was canceled. Eleanor had acquired a sizable inheritance in her own name. Despite her intense wish to remain single, she married an English prince, Henry II of England, quite shortly.
The eight children of the royal marriage were a constant source of frustration for Eleanor due to his lack of interest in them. Eleanor gladly gave her son’s attempt to overthrow the monarch her backing. Sadly, the plot failed, and she spent the next sixteen years behind bars. She didn’t experience independence again until her husband passed away, and astonishingly, many still remember her as her son’s strong and skilled regent during his distant crusade.[6]

4. Catherine Howard

Indeed, one more of Henry VIII’s wives has made it into this list. Is it truly that unexpected, though? When Catherine Howard (c. 1523–1542) wed Henry, she was only eighteen and he was almost fifty. Given their stark 30-year age difference and Henry’s deteriorating health, it’s obvious that Catherine had no intention of falling head over heels in love with the elderly monarch. He was quite honest about his feelings for her, but even so, there was very little freedom in the marriage, and soon Catherine started pursuing younger men.Naturally, the public discussion around Catherine’s adulterous affairs contributed to her downfall. Is she truly to fault for looking for more suitable partners, or will she always be the perverse adulterous woman? One document is frequently cited as proof that she genuinely loved Thomas Culpepper and willingly committed adultery with him: a letter.There is a hint, though, that she was only attempting to use tactful language to halt his aggressive approaches. Because of his love for Catherine, Henry at first found it hard to accept the accusations made against her, but more and more came out. In 1542, after admitting to several extramarital affairs, Catherine lost her head.[7]

3. Flanders’ Matilda

Matilda of Flanders (d. 1083) was the first queen of England, serving as queen consort to William I, often known as William the Conqueror. She was a young woman who was going to marry William, Duke of Normandy, before she became queen. She ventured to reject his distant marriage proposal, stating that she would not wed a bastard.William rode to her day and night after hearing about her refusal, and when he saw Matilda, he seized her by the hair, flung her to the ground, and beat her severely. He departed right once to go back home, and after a few days of recuperation, Matilda finally declared she would only marry William. Perhaps this says more about how their marriage will progress than anything else, but there’s more to come.[8]

2. Elizabeth Woodville

Following Margaret of Anjou, another queen consort on this list, was Elizabeth Woodville (1437–1492). Elizabeth’s lack of noble status made her an extremely unpopular queen, especially given her propensity to grant special favors to family members. Her children, the renowned “Princes in the Tower,” vanished shortly after being entrusted to the notorious Richard III.Elizabeth agonized as her husband’s heirs were gradually taken away, though it is unclear how she felt about the loss. Later, when Henry VII ascended to the throne, there was speculation that Elizabeth was complicit in a conspiracy to depose the monarch. She was taken to a nunnery without much thought, where she lived out the remainder of her days. After being in solitude for a few years, she passed away suddenly.[9]

1. Mary I, Queen

You wouldn’t expect Queen Mary I (1516–1558), also referred to as “Bloody Mary,” to be experiencing any kind of suffering. She endured to stay a Catholic even though she advocated for the cruel murder of several Protestants. After just a few years of life, her father, Henry VIII, declared her to be illegitimate. She was therefore completely cut out of the succession when her brother, for whom she was intended to be the successor, passed away.Due to the desires of the men in her immediate vicinity, Mary, who had formerly been a well-respected princess, eventually found herself forgotten and disregarded. She married the king of Spain after ascending to the throne in 1553 because she understood she would need a Catholic heir to maintain the country’s strong Catholic identity. But once more, Mary was left virtually alone as Philip II paid her only few visits and she was never able to conceive. Speaking of children, Queen Mary experienced two fake pregnancies, the longest of which lasted more than a year, out of her desperation for an heir and kid. She was undoubtedly under a great deal of stress due to the absence of a real delivery while she waited in court, and she was made fun of for having a “delusion” that she was pregnant. She was confined to a chamber for more than three months while she awaited giving birth, and ultimately she had to come out. Not a child, and a mountain of disappointment in herself as well as the whole public.[10]

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