Medieval Queens, Empresses, and Women Rulers

Women of Power in the Middle Ages

In the Middle Ages, men ruled -- except when women did. Here are a few of the medieval women who ruled -- in their own right in a few cases, as regents for male relatives in other cases, and sometimes by wielding power and influence through their husbands, sons, brothers, and grandsons.

Catherine Parr - Sixth Wife of Henry VIII

View Full-Size © Clipart.com (1512? - September 5 or 7, 1548; England) Sixth wife of Henry VIII, Catherine Parr was initially reluctant to marry Henry, and by all accounts was a patient, loving, and pious wife to him in his last years of illness, disillusion, and pain. She was an advocate of Protestant reforms.

Elizabeth I of England

View Full-Size © Clipart.com, modifications © Jone Johnson Lewis (September 9, 1533 - March 24, 1603; England) Known as Queen Bess or the Virgin Queen, Elizabeth I ruled at a key time in England's history, and is one of the most-remembered British rulers, male or female.

Elizabeth of York

View Full-Size Public domain image (February 11, 1466 - February 11, 1503; England) Elizabeth of York was the only woman to have been a daughter, sister, niece, wife, and mother to English kings. Her marriage to Henry VII signaled the end of the wars of the roses and the beginning of the Tudor dynasty.