Author: Sarah Stook. Sarah is a writer for Elections Daily, The Mallard and other publications. She enjoys history, reading and fashion.

Throughout history, the role of a queen has been to birth the heirs. Bringing a healthy son into life would secure the queen’s future, but having only daughters or no children at all would be very detrimental- as queens like Anne Boleyn would learn.

Whilst modern historians and history nerds may base their views on queens by actions such as bravery and patronage, the fact remains that even to this day, queens are generally expected to have children.

This article discusses the queens consort and regnants of England and Britain from 1066 by how successful they were with both bearing children and creating/continuing a dynasty. This does not include wives of future kings who died or whose marriages ended before ascension, such as Mary de Bohun (though she didn’t do too badly) and Lady Diana Spencer. 

Matilda of Flanders (William I)

The children of Matilda of Flanders, first Norman queen of England, are interesting because we don’t actually know how many there were. We are sure of how many sons she had- four- and their order of birth, but the number of daughters and their order of birth are a little murky. It’s believed that she had at least five daughters, but there’s a possibility of six.

Only three of Matilda’s children had children of their own. Her grandson William via her eldest son Robert would have been heir to the throne by the male-preference primogeniture that had been our way until the 21st century, but the throne instead went to her son Henry. Another grandson, Stephen, became King of England over granddaughter Matilda. As a result, Matilda is the ancestor of British and English royalty among others.

Success: 5/10

Matilda of Scotland (Henry I)

Matilda of Scotland had two children- one boy and one girl, both within her first three years of marriage. One might consider this unusual considering her husband ended up having twenty-six children, but it’s said that Matilda refused to share a bed with Henry again after their son was born.

Son William died young, but daughter Matilda went on to have issue. As a result, Matilda of Scotland is the ancestor of English and British royalty among others.

Success: 3/10

Adeliza of Louvain (Henry I)

Adeliza of Louvain became the second wife of Henry I after he lost his only legitimate son. They were married for fourteen years but had no children together. This was odd- Henry had over twenty children and Adeliza would later prove to be fertile. Adeliza managed seven children with her second spouse, William of Arundel.

Success: 2/10

Empress Matilda

The Empress Matilda is a disputed queen, but let’s put her in for argument’s sake. Matilda had no children with her first husband, but three sons with her second. She outlived two of her sons, but the third, Henry II had eight legitimate children and several illegitimate ones. As a result, Matilda is the ancestor of English and British royals among others.

Success: 3/10

Matilda of Boulogne (Stephen)

Matilda of Boulogne had five children- three sons and two daughters. As a result of an agreement to end The Anarchy, none of Matilda’s sons ever became their father’s heir. Only one of her children had issue of their own, and through that daughter (Marie), she is an ancestor of a Holy Roman Emperor among others. 

Success: 2/10

Eleanor of Aquitaine (Henry II)

Eleanor of Aquitaine was one of the most powerful women in European history, and continued her line with ten children. Her first two children were with her first husband, Louis VIII of France. These two children were both girls, and the lack of sons contributed to their eventual annulment. It would take Louis until his third wife to have the male heir needed by Salic law. Meanwhile, Eleanor gave birth to her first son with second husband Henry less than a year after they married. They ended up having eight children together- five sons and three daughters.

Two of Eleanor’s sons became King of England, and through John, she is the ancestor of English and British monarchs. Through several of her children, she is the ancestor of Portuguese, Aragonese, French and Holy Roman royalty among others.

Success: 8/10

Margaret of France, Young Queen

Margaret of France was the Young Queen of England to Henry the Young King. The two never had any children, nor did she have any children with her second husband, Béla III of Hungary.

Success: 0/10

Berengaria of Navarre

• None
• Richard barely spent any time with her

Berengaria of Navarre was an unfortunate queen as her husband barely spent any time with her, so little that the Pope had to force him to escort her to church. The pair never had any children together, though Richard had an illegitimate son.

Success: 0/10

Isabella of Angoulême (John)

• Fourteen children- seven sons and seven daughters
• Five with John- two sons and three daughters
• Nine with Hugh- five sons and four daughters
• All lived to adulthood  
• Ancestor of English monarchs, as well as Welsh and Holy Roman Emperor

Isabella of Angoulême had a whopping fourteen children, all of whom amazingly survived to adulthood. She had five children- two sons and three daughters- with her first husband, John. She had none more with her second husband, Hugh X of Lusignan. All but three of those fourteen children went off to have issue of their own.

She is the ancestor not only of English and British royalty, but Welsh and the Holy Roman Empire among others.

Success: 9/10

Eleanor of Provence (Henry III)

Eleanor Provence had five children- three sons and two daughters. All but one had children of their own. She is an ancestor of English, British and Norwegian royals among others.

Success: 5/10

Eleanor of Castile (Edward I)

• Sixteen children- eleven daughters and five sons
• Six lived to adulthood
• Five had children
• Ancestor of English monarchs

Eleanor of Castile had a whopping sixteen children- eleven daughters and five sons. Six of these children lived to adulthood, and five had children of their own. She is ancestor to English and British royalty among others.

Success: 6/10

Margaret of France (Edward I)

Margaret of France was the second wife of Edward I. He had truly loved his first wife Eleanor and had not wished to marry again, but needed to as he only had one living son. Margaret gave Edward three children- two sons and a daughter, the latter who she named after her predecessor Eleanor. Though none of her children became monarchs, she is the great-grandmother of Richard II through her son Edmund. She is ancestor to England and British royalty among others. 

Success: 4/10

Isabella of France (Edward II)

Isabella of France had four children with Edward II- two sons and two daughters. Of those children, only two (Edward and Eleanor) had issue. As a result, she is the ancestor of English and British royalty among others.

Success: 5/10

Philippa of Hainault (Edward III)

Philippa of Hainault had an impressive thirteen children- eight sons and five daughters. Two grandsons from different sons became king, and she is the ancestor of English, British and Portuguese royals among others.

Success: 5/10

Anne of Bohemia (Richard I)

Whilst Richard I and Anne of Bohemia enjoyed a loving marriage, they did not have children. Richard refused to blame his beloved Anne for this.

Success: 0/10

Isabella of Valois (Richard I)

• Daughter with her second husband

Richard I and Isabella never consummated their marriage due to Isabella being under the canonical age of consummation (12) during their marriage. Isabella had a daughter with her second husband, but died in childbirth. Her daughter died childless.

Success: 1/10

Joan of Navarre (Henry IV)

Joan of Navarre had eleven children. She had nine with her first husband, John IV of Brittany- four sons and five daughters. With her second husband, Henry IV, she had stillborn twins of an unknown sex- he always had six children through his first wife. Through her children from her first marriage, Joan is an ancestor of European royalty.

Success: 4/10

Catherine of Valois

Catherine of Valois had around six children. She had one son with her first husband, Henry V, likely because they were only married for two years. Catherine then had around three sons and two daughters with her second husband, Owen Tudor. Her son Henry VI was King of England, and her grandson Henry VII started the Tudor dynasty. She is thus the ancestor of English and British monarchs among others.

Success: 7/10

Margaret of Anjou (Henry VI)

Margaret of Anjou had one son with Henry VI. This was due to Henry VI’s severe mental illness that prevented them from spending more time together. Their son died young, and they had no grandchildren.

Success: 2/10

Elizabeth Woodville (Edward IV)

Elizabeth Woodville had an impressive twelve children, somewhat helping the fact she was not a dynastic foreign match. She has two sons with her first husband, Sir John Grey. She then had ten children with Edward- three sons and seven daughters. One son became king before his likely murder, whilst daughter Elizabeth married into the Tudor dynasty. She is thus the ancestor of English, British and other European royals. 

Success: 7/10

Anne Neville (Richard III)

Anne Neville had one son. Her first marriage to Edward, Prince of Wales was childless, but she barely had any time with him. She had one son with her second husband, Richard II, but the boy predeceased them both.

Success: 1/10 

Elizabeth of York (Henry VIII)

Elizabeth of York has seven children- three sons and four daughters. Three of her children- Mary, Margaret and Henry had children, and all of them were parents or grandparents of English/British monarchs. She is thus ancestor to English, British and other European royalty.

Success: 6/10

Catherine of Aragon (Henry VIII)

Catherine of Aragon had five children- three sons and two daughters. Only one lived past infancy, and they did not produce any children. Catherine’s lack of healthy sons contributed towards Henry’s cruel repudiation of her.

Success: 3/10

Anne Boleyn (Henry VIII)

Anne Boleyn had one daughter. Her lack of healthy sons contributed towards Henry executing her. Anne’s daughter became one of our greatest monarchs, but had no children of her own.

Success: 1/10

Jane Seymour (Henry VIII)

Jane Seymour gave Henry VIII his treasured son, but died in childbirth. Her son never had any children as he died young.

Success: 1/10

Anne of Cleves (Henry VIII)

Anne of Cleves had no children, and was believed to have died a virgin.

Success: 0/10

Katherine Howard (Henry VIII)

Katherine Howard had no children with Henry.

Success: 0/10

Katherine Parr (Henry VIII)

Katherine Parr had no children with Henry VIII, though it was probably not expected of her. She unexpectedly fell pregnant with her fourth husband, but sadly died giving birth to a daughter named Mary. Mary is believed to have died as a toddler.

Success:1/10

Lady Jane Grey

Lady Jane Grey was a disputed queen, and had no children, likely due to the fact that she was married for less than a year.

Success: 0/10

Mary I

Mary I had no children. She was an extremely maternal woman who adored children and was a godmother to many. As a teenager, she developed menstrual issues, likely due to the stress of her parents’ situation. She married very late (38) and only spent a handful of occasions with her husband. These issues led to her dying without a child.

Success: 0/10

Elizabeth I

Elizabeth I was a famous virgin, likely due to her father’s treatment of her mother and childbirth taking two of her stepmothers. Whilst her counselors pushed for her to marry, her choice of virginity was widely respected across England.

Success: 0/10

Anne of Denmark (James I)

Anne of Denmark had seven children- three sons and four daughters. Two of these- Elizabeth and Charles- had children of their own. After Charles’ great-granddaughter Anne died without an heir, Elizabeth’s grandson took the throne. She is an ancestor of English, British, Hanoverian and other European royalty.

Success: 7/10

Henrietta Maria of France (Charles I)

Henrietta Maria of France had nine children with her husband- four sons and five daughters. Two of her sons became King of England, as well as two of her granddaughters. She is an ancestor of British, Spanish, Holy Roman and other European royalty.

Success: 7/10

Catherine of Braganza (Charles II)

Catherine of Braganza had no children, likely becoming infertile after three miscarriages. Meanwhile, her husband had around fourteen illegitimate children. This, and her husband’s many mistresses, would have hurt her greatly.

Success: 0/10

Mary of Modena (James II)

Mary had an amazing twelve children- two sons, five daughters and five of unknown sex who were stillborn. Only one son went on to marry and have children. Because of her stepdaughter’s invasion of England, Mary was not the mother of a recognised English king. She had no legitimate grandchildren.

Success: 3/10

Mary II

Mary II did not have any children, as a miscarriage is believed to have rendered her infertile. 

Success: 0/10

Anne

Anne had nine children- five sons and four daughters, as well as a record seventeen pregnancies. Unfortunately, only one child lived past infancy, and even then, he died aged eleven. It was remarkable that she survived so long.

Success: 2/10

Caroline of Ansbach (George II)

Caroline of Ansbach had nine children- four sons and five daughters. Whilst her eldest son Frederick predeceased her, his son George became king. Four of her children would have issue of their own. She is an ancestor of British, Dutch and Norwegian monarchs among others.

Success: 7/10

Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz (George III)

Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz had an incredible fifteen children- nine sons and six daughters, which led to thirty-two grandchildren (though many were illegitimate). Two of her sons became king, and a granddaughter became queen.

She is an ancestor of British and other European monarchs.

Success: 8/10

Caroline of Brunswick (George IV)

Caroline of Brunswick had one daughter. This is likely due to the fact that she only slept with her husband twice, as they despised one another. Her daughter sadly died in childbirth, with the baby stillborn.

Success: 1/10

Adelaide of Saxe-Meiningen (William IV)

Adelaide of Saxe-Meiningen had five children with her husband- two sons, two daughters and one of an unknown sex. Only one lived past birth, and even then she died at a few months old. William has an impressive eleven illegitimate children, all of whom lived to adulthood.

Success: 2/10

Victoria

Victoria has nine children, all of whom amazingly survived to adulthood. All of them married, and all but one had children. She had forty-two grandchildren, and her descendants married into a number of royal houses. Nicknamed ‘The Grandmother of Europe,’ she is a close ancestor of British, Russian, German, Greek, Norwegian, Prussian, Romanian, Yugoslavian, Swedish, Danish and Austrian monarchs.

Success: 10/10

Alexandra of Denmark (Edward VII)

Alexandra of Denmark had six children- two sons and four daughters. Three of her children- George, Louise and Maud had issue. She is the ancestor of British and Norwegian monarchs.

Success: 5/10

Mary of Teck (George V)

Mary of Teck had six children- five sons and one daughter. Four of these children had issue of their own. She is the ancestor of British monarchs.

Success: 6/10

Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon (George VI)

Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon had two daughters with her husband, one of whom became our longest-serving monarch. She had six grandchildren and ten of twelve great-grandchildren by her death.

Success: 4/10

Elizabeth II

Elizabeth II had four children- three sons and a daughter. She also had eight grandchildren and twelve great-grandchildren. Her son is our current king.

Success: 5/10

Camilla Parker Bowles

Camilla Parker-Bowles had two children with her first husband- a son and a daughter. As Charles already had his sons from his first marriage and they married later in life, no more children were expected from her.

Success: 1/10