Through most of history, male monarchs have been the norm. Their wives held the title of Queen or Empress, but were merely consorts, with little real power. Many monarchies, like France, The Ottoman Empire and Bhutan have strictly barred women from inheriting the throne and have never had a Queen Regnant, or a Queen in her own right. While others have rules loose enough that a handful of women have had the opportunity to claim the throne and become the highest authority in the land. Some achieved this by outliving their brothers, or not having any, some by seizing power from their husbands or male relatives, and a few actually married their own brothers in order to claim the throne. One nation on our list actually had a matrilineal monarchy for 300 years. Let’s take a look at the top 7 nations who have been ruled by 10 or more Queens Regnant: 7. Japan - 10 Queens & Empresses is Japan 6.Hawai’i - 13 Queens 5. Italy - 14 Queens 4. United Kingdom - 15 Queens 3. Spain - 17 Queens 2. Nigeria - 24 Queens 1. Egypt - 28 Queens Join me every Tuesday when I'm Spilling the Tea on History! Check out my Youtube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/lindsayholiday Follow me on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100091781568503 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/historyteatimelindsayholiday/ Tik Tok: https://www.tiktok.com/@historyteatime Please consider supporting me at https://www.patreon.com/LindsayHoliday and help me make more fascinating episodes! Intro Music: Baroque Coffee House by Doug Maxwell Music: Brandenburg Concerto No4-1 BWV1049 - Classical Whimsical by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Source: http://incompetech.com/music/royalty-free/index.html?isrc=USUAN1100303 Artist: http://incompetech.com/ #HistoryTeaTime #LindsayHoliday Please contact ⁠⁠⁠advertising@airwavemedia.com⁠⁠⁠ if you would like to advertise on this podcast. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices