Female Monarch Research Articles

The British Royals in Australia

The British Royals in Australia

Historic British Royal Memes

Historic British Royal Memes

Beyond the masculinity of kingship: The making of a modern queen in early second millennium Sri Lanka

AbstractModern historians have repeatedly cast Sri Lanka’s historical female monarchs as ‘queens’, without critically reflecting on the conceptual limits and nuances of that term. Through a close examination of sources from the early second millennium, and their reception by scholars from the colonial period onwards, I demonstrate that Sri Lanka’s female monarchs—particularly Līlāvatī of Poḷonnaruva (r. 1197–1200, 1209, and 1210)—engaged in a more creative and subversive performance of gender than modern ‘queenship’ allows. In particular, I argue, a discourse of kingship’s inherent masculinity, advanced in literary and didactic texts written primarily by male monastics, was too-willingly accepted by colonial-period scholars. Closer attention to the material evidence of Līlāvatī’s reign, however, challenges this discourse and further suggests a politics of gender beyond the binary.

Nü Guo in Chinese Historiography: the Localisation of Tibetan “Women’s Kingdoms.” Part I: Possible Location of The Kingdom of Women in Eastern Tibet

Chinese texts from the 5th to the 11th centuries, including chronicles, treatises, encyclopaedias, and travellers’ reports, frequently mention both mythical and real states ruled by a line of female monarchs (referred to as Nü guo, “Kingdom of Women,” or Nü-wang guo, “Kingdom of a Woman King”). This study aims to localize those “Kingdoms of Women” situated in or near Tibet. In doing so, it addresses whether the macrotoponyms Nü guo and Nü-wang guo refer to actual or legendary regions. Analysis of the sources reveals that the chronicles describe Kingdoms of Women located on opposite sides of the Tibetan Plateau. By synthesising information from multiple disciplines, including extensive ethnographic material, the study identifies the geographical location of a Kingdom of Women in Eastern Tibet, within the Sino-Tibetan borderlands. In this region, matrilineal families, primarily composed of women and their descendants, were prevalent. Local architecture also displays a clear connection to the Kingdom of Women described in medieval Chinese documents. Additionally, a potential cultural parallel is found in the significant role of monkeys among the Qiang, a borderland ethnic group that maintained traditional beliefs. The findings suggest that the toponyms Nü guo and Nü-wang guo correspond to a real kingdom encompassing territories in the Daduhe and Yalongjiang river basins, located at the geographical and civilizational boundary between Tibet and China.

To Be or Not To Be a Genius: The Argument for Acquired Knowledge and Life Experience

The personal attitudes and experiences of the greatest authors are usually reflected in their works, a phenomenon that gives literary biography its rich potential for new revelations and insights. Within this premise, the Shakespearean poems and plays appear to reflect the viewpoint and education of a high-ranking Elizabethan nobleman of vast experience and deep learning. In fact, many aspects of the life of Edward de Vere, 17th Earl of Oxford, appear to be closely mirrored by the title character of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark. Both the Earl and the Prince are each on intimate terms with a female monarch; each is involved with the daughter of the Queen’s chief minister; each brings actors to perform at the royal court; and while the author of Hamlet demonstrably referred to classics of the Italian Renaissance-- The Courtier and Cardanus’ Comforte -- Oxford himself sponsored publications of both these works in England. The specific focus of this essay is on aspects of such “special knowledge” within the Shakespearean works, special knowledge that has no specific connection to the life of the man from Stratford but which was deeply imbued in the life of Edward de Vere. Cited here will be details of the author’s connections to France and the French language; to the unique culture and geography of Italy; to the literature and drama of ancient Greece; to legal terminology and intricacies of the law; his proximity to persons and places of state power; to his military expertise; his medical knowledge; his intimacy with the sea and seamanship; to astronomy; to music; horses and horsemanship; heraldry; and to plants gardens and gardening. Such experiences and knowledge was possessed by the Earl of Oxford, and it is contrasted here with the paucity of similar experience and learning in the life of Will Shakspere of Stratford. The evidence clearly suggests that it was Edward de Vere using the pseudonym William Shakespeare rather than Will Shakspere who actually was behind the Bard’s work.

The ambivalent faces of domestic queens: gender, power, and political crisis in the nineteenth century Iberian Peninsula

ABSTRACT In the mid-nineteenth century, three reigning queens ruled their countries: Victoria in England, Maria II in Portugal, and Isabel II in Spain. These were three women who had to assume political power in a moment both of the redefinition of womanhood towards domesticity and the establishment of liberal, constitutional regimes. Their queenship, therefore, was built on a close relationship with their moral and domestic attributes as women, feeding one process back into the other. This article aims to show the relevance of gender in the modern legitimization of the monarchy and its critique. Many studies have focused on Queen Victoria, comparing her successful formula to other female monarchs. This article studies the cases of Portugal and Spain comparatively to make the process more complex and diverse. For this purpose, I first point out how critical gender was in the legitimization of both queens with very similar lives and political contexts. This intricately linked relationship was apparent in the symbolic construction of their reigns but was particularly evident in the numerous political crises they would have to face. I compare their experiences to show that domesticity played a central role in shaping their queenship and political (de)legitimization.

Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until her death in 2022. She was queen regnant of 32 sovereign states during her lifetime, and was head of state of 15 realms at the time of her death. Her reign of 70

Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until her death in 2022. She was queen regnant of 32 sovereign states during her lifetime, and was head of state of 15 realms at the time of her death. Her reign of 70

Ommochrome Wing Pigments in the Monarch Butterfly Danaus plexippus (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae).

Monarch butterflies (Danaus plexippus) use bright orange coloration to warn off predators as well as for sexual selection. Surprisingly the underlying pigment compounds have not been previously characterized. We used LCMS and fragmentation MS (including MSMS and MSn) of extracted pigments from nonmigratory summer-generation female monarch forewings to identify and provide relative quantitation of various orange pigments from D. plexippus. We observed seven ommochrome pigments, with xanthommatin and decarboxylated xanthommatin being the most abundant followed by xanthommatin methyl ester. Among the seven pigments, we also observed molecules that correspond to deaminated forms of these three amine-containing pigments. To the best of our knowledge, these deaminated compounds have not been previously discovered. A seventh pigment that we observed was α-hydroxyxanthommatin methyl ester, previously described in other nymphalid butterflies. We also show that chemical reduction of pigment extracts results in a change of their color from yellow to red, concomitant with the appearance of dihydro-xanthommatin and similarly reduced forms of the other pigment compounds. These findings indicate that monarchs may employ differences in the redox states of these pigments in order to achieve different hues of orange.

The clash of traditional values: opposition to female monarchs – ERRATUM

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The clash of traditional values: opposition to female monarchs

AbstractThe revision of sexist laws is complicated not only by disagreements between progressives and traditionalists but also by opposing views held by different types of traditionalists. We design a two-wave list experiment with information treatments to examine public opinion toward reforming the Japanese monarchy’s male-only patrilineal succession rule, focusing on two strands of traditionalism: conservatism and sexism. We show that conservatism, not sexism, is associated with stronger opposition to the ascension of female monarchs. Moreover, opinions toward gendered succession rules are hard to dislodge, because they are rooted in deep-held values. Treatments that highlight the capability of female heirs, the rarity of current practices in peer nations, and the perils posed by succession crises fail to change respondent preferences. Our study reveals the discordance within traditional values, and how this can impede efforts to reform statutory gender discrimination.

The Right to Rule and the Rights of Women: Queen Victoria and the Women’s Movement, by Arianne Chernock

Reviewed by: The Right to Rule and the Rights of Women: Queen Victoria and the Women's Movement by Arianne Chernock Barbara Caine (bio) The Right to Rule and the Rights of Women: Queen Victoria and the Women's Movement, by Arianne Chernock; pp. xi + 249. Cambridge and New York: Cambridge University Press, 2019, $99.99, $29.99 paper, $24.00 ebook. Historians' interest in Queen Victoria shows no sign of diminishing. If anything, it has increased, but with a changed focus. No longer does the life of the queen attract attention, nor even her role within the government and the state. What is significant now is rather how Queen Victoria was seen by different groups and in different contexts. This question of how the image of Queen Victoria was "leveraged" by both supporters and opponents of women's rights to further their causes is the focus of Arianne Chernock's engaging new study, The Right to Rule and the Rights of Women: Queen Victoria and the Women's Movement (9). Neither those who drew on Queen Victoria to support their claims for women's rights, nor those who used her image to make the opposing case, sought the queen's active involvement in their causes or had any clear idea of her views on the subject. Well into the 1870s, Chernock argues, "the queen remained a screen onto which subjects subscribing to wildly different propositions on sex and gender could project their beliefs" (63). Her lack of support for women's rights is now well known, but, as Chernock points out, the British public remained largely unaware until the 1870s when Theodore Martin, in his Life of His Royal Highness the Prince Consort (1875), cited a private letter by the queen stating her belief that "we women are not made for governing" (qtd. in Chernock 153). Her displeasure at "this mad, wicked folly of 'Woman's rights'" was also expressed in a private letter to Martin and published by him—to support the anti-suffrage position in 1902 (qtd. in Chernock 194). The use of female monarchs by radicals seeking democratic reforms, and especially rights for women, was widespread in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, such that those supporting women's rights "were primed to see the young Victoria in a hopeful light" (41). Radical Unitarians and Chartists, alongside the women involved in Langham Place and the early supporters of women's suffrage, frequently drew on Victoria's image in pamphlets, speeches, and articles to support their views. Drawing on the writings of many individuals, including Barbara Bodichon, Helen Taylor, and Millicent Garrett Fawcett, Chernock explores the different ways in which Queen Victoria provided an example of how it was possible for women to combine private and public duties and responsibilities, as devoted wife and mother as well as queen. She was also used as an illustration of the fact that the demand for political rights for women was in accordance with the principles of the British Constitution. [End Page 314] Still, supporters of women's rights did not have it all their own way. On the contrary, their opponents made more effective use of Queen Victoria by casting her example into a framework for questioning the power and capacity of female monarchs more broadly and for redefining the monarchy itself when held by a woman. While advocates of women's rights turned to the example of Queen Elizabeth as an earlier illustration of female capacity for rule, their opponents insisted rather on the importance of her counselors, especially Lord Burghley, in Elizabethan governance. Queen Elizabeth, in the opinion of conservative historians like James Anthony Froude and Goldwin Smith, was merely a figurehead: when a queen was on the throne, it was the men around her who exercised real power. The same argument was only too easily made with regard to Queen Victoria due to the presence of Prince Albert, who was "King to all intents and purposes" in the eyes of some (qtd. in Chernock 103). In the book's most interesting chapter, Chernock shows how discussion around the powers and prerogatives of the monarch increasingly were gendered within many political and legal circles in the...

Different factors limit early- and late-season windows of opportunity for monarch development.

Seasonal windows of opportunity are intervals within a year that provide improved prospects for growth, survival, or reproduction. However, few studies have sufficient temporal resolution to examine how multiple factors combine to constrain the seasonal timing and extent of developmental opportunities. Here, we document seasonal changes in milkweed (Asclepias fascicularis)–monarch (Danaus plexippus) interactions with high resolution throughout the last three breeding seasons prior to a precipitous single‐year decline in the western monarch population. Our results show early‐ and late‐season windows of opportunity for monarch recruitment that were constrained by different combinations of factors. Early‐season windows of opportunity were characterized by high egg densities and low survival on a select subset of host plants, consistent with the hypothesis that early‐spring migrant female monarchs select earlier‐emerging plants to balance a seasonal trade‐off between increasing host plant quantity and decreasing host plant quality. Late‐season windows of opportunity were coincident with the initiation of host plant senescence, and caterpillar success was negatively correlated with heatwave exposure, consistent with the hypothesis that late‐season windows were constrained by plant defense traits and thermal stress. Throughout this study, climatic and microclimatic variations played a foundational role in the timing and success of monarch developmental windows by affecting bottom‐up, top‐down, and abiotic limitations. More exposed microclimates were associated with higher developmental success during cooler conditions, and more shaded microclimates were associated with higher developmental success during warmer conditions, suggesting that habitat heterogeneity could buffer the effects of climatic variation. Together, these findings show an important dimension of seasonal change in milkweed–monarch interactions and illustrate how different biotic and abiotic factors can limit the developmental success of monarchs across the breeding season. These results also suggest the potential for seasonal sequences of favorable or unfavorable conditions across the breeding range to strongly affect monarch population dynamics.

19th century Britain, a time of reshaping women in the ideology of “separate spheres”

The main issue of this article is to analyse the 19th century Britain , a time of great progress and reform in British society due to industrialisation and social upheaval.But one of the most controversial debates were the “gender inequality “ in the then period. How in this era women were discriminated against by men. Throughout the 19th century a system existed which was entirely patriarchal. Britain was run by common law; a law which dictated that once a woman married, she ended up with no rights to anything. Patriarchal society did not allow women to have the same privileges as men. Consequently, women were ascribed the more feminine duties and pursuing the outlets of feminine creativity. The most ridiculous thing was that this era symbolised by the reign of a female monarch, Queen Victoria, still the women were subject to the voice of men . They were deprived of their own property, voting rights and even right over her own body. People believed in Tennyson’s words, “men for the field, women for the home “. So in a sense it can be rightly said that the age is the supreme example of the proverb “Darkness reigns at the foot of the light-house”.

The ‘Obstacle of Sex’. Christina of Sweden and Her Aspirations to the Polish–Lithuanian Throne

ABSTRACTAn important field of research related to early modern sovereignty is the topic of female political authority. This article aims to utilise the category of gender to analyse potential obstacles that Queen Christina of Sweden had to overcome in order to obtain royal dignity in an elective monarchy, the early modern Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. Could the election of a female monarch constitute an acceptable and functional alternative for the Catholic and conservative noble society of this vast composite state? Former examples of Jadwiga of Anjou (1384) and Anna Jagiellon (1576) elected and crowned Kings of Poland seemed to suggest as much. The case of Christina's aspirations is all the more interesting, as her prominent supporter during the royal election of 1669 was the head of the Catholic Church, Pope Clement IX. It is, in fact, the diplomatic correspondence created by the papal Secretariat of State that constitutes the historical basis for the research presented here.

Exploring the Role of Cognition in the Annual Fall Migration of the Monarch Butterfly (Danaus plexippus).

Simple SummaryEach year, millions of monarch butterflies in eastern North America undergo a spectacular fall migration to overwintering sites in central Mexico, where they remain until returning northward in the spring. In addition to the navigational challenges faced during the southward flight, migratory individuals are also challenged with the foraging task of locating high-quality nectar sources for overwinter survival in the face of unfamiliar floral landscapes that change in complex and unpredictable ways. In the research reported here, a proboscis extension paradigm is used to investigate learning and long-term memory abilities that might help fall migrants meet these unique foraging demands. Male and female migratory and captive-reared individuals were consecutively trained to perform color and odor cue discriminations and then tested for their ability to simultaneously retain reward information associated with each cue in memory without reinforcement over a period of 7 days. Results showed that male and female fall migrants can learn the reward properties of color and odor cues with over 75% accuracy after less than 40 s of exposure and can simultaneously retain visual and olfactory information predicting the availability of floral rewards in memory without reinforcement for at least 7 days. Captive-reared male butterflies also showed the ability to retain visual and olfactory information in long-term memory for 7 days; however, 80% of captive-reared females could not retain color cues in long-term memory for more than 24 h. These novel findings are consistent with the view that monarch butterflies have enhancements to long-term memory that enable them to minimize the amount of time and energy wasted searching for suitable nectar sources during their annual fall migration, thereby optimizing migratory performance and increasing the chance of overwinter survival. The possibility that female monarchs undergo a seasonal change in visual long-term memory warrants further empirical investigation.Each fall, monarch butterflies in eastern North America undergo an extraordinary long-distance migration to wintering areas in central Mexico, where they remain until returning northward in the spring. Migrants survive the overwintering period by metabolizing lipid reserves accumulated exclusively though floral nectar; however, there is little known about how individuals maximize foraging efficiency in the face of floral environments that constantly change in complex and unpredictable ways along their migratory route. Here, a proboscis extension paradigm is used to investigate the role of cognition during the foraging phase of monarch migration. Male and female migratory butterflies were consecutively trained to discriminate between two color and odor cues and then tested for their ability to simultaneously retain the information on the reward value of each cue in memory without reinforcement over a period of 7 days. To gain further insight into cognitive abilities of monarchs as a migratory species, a second set of captive-reared males and females were tested under harnessed conditions at the same time as wild-caught fall migrants. Results showed that male and female migrants can learn the reward properties of color and odor cues with over 75% accuracy after less than 40 s of exposure and can simultaneously retain visual and olfactory information predicting the availability of floral rewards in memory without reinforcement for at least 7 days. Captive-reared male butterflies also showed the ability to retain visual and olfactory information in long-term memory for 7 days; however, 80% of captive-reared females could not retain color cues in long-term memory for more than 24 h. These novel findings are consistent with the view that monarch butterflies, as a migratory species, have enhancements to long-term memory that enable them to minimize the amount of time and energy wasted searching for suitable nectar sources during their annual fall migration, thereby optimizing migratory performance and increasing the chance of overwinter survival. The possibility that female monarchs undergo a seasonal change in visual long-term memory warrants further empirical investigation.

Elizabeth I’s Royal Progresses: A Study of Formal Orations and Poetic Recitations

The present study examines the rhetoric of inconsistency in the representation of Queen Elizabeth I through a reading of formal orations and poetic recitations written during her royal progresses. These literary resources, which were deliberately designed to promote the Elizabethan monarchy, offer illuminating examples of Elizabeth’s struggle to cultivate a distinctive royal identity. I would suggest that the tactical rhetorical practice of creating paradoxical images was an essential constituent of Elizabeth’s statecraft to cement her authority and reinforce her legitimacy. Indeed, the deployment of a discourse of contradiction that shaped Elizabeth’s progresses was a necessary and practical approach to overcome the vulnerability of an unmarried female monarch. The analysis of contradictory imagery is a valuable contribution to comprehend the complexity of Elisabeth’s representation and her strategies of exercising power in a patriarchal society. The research shows that Elizabeth employed the medium of creating ambiguous images as a rhetorical tactic to overcome gender bias against the female monarchy, and her courtiers utilized the same approach to advance their own agendas. It explores two ambiguous representations: masculine/ feminine portrayal and virgin/ maternal depiction.

N. Ahebe, Female Monarchs and Merchant Queens in Africa

N. Ahebe, <i>Female Monarchs and Merchant Queens in Africa</i>

Oviposition Response of Monarch Butterfly (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae) to Imidacloprid-Treated Milkweed.

Monarch butterfly (Danaus plexippus) populations have declined over the last two decades, attributable in part to declines in its larval host plant, milkweed (Asclepias spp.), across its breeding range. Conservation efforts in the United States call for restoration of 1.3 billion milkweed stems into the Midwestern landscape. Reaching this goal will require habitat establishment in marginal croplands, where there is a high potential for exposure to agrochemicals. Corn and soybean crops may be treated with neonicotinoid insecticides systemically or through foliar applications to provide protection against insect pests. Here, we investigate whether ovipositing monarchs discriminate against milkweed plants exposed to the neonicotinoid insecticide imidacloprid, either systemically or through foliar application. In our first experiment, we placed gravid females in enclosures containing a choice of two cut stems for oviposition: one in 15 ml of a 0.5 mg/ml aqueous solution of imidacloprid and one in 15 ml water. In a second experiment, females were given a choice of milkweed plants whose leaves were treated with 30 µl of a 0.825 mg/ml imidacloprid-surfactant solution or plants treated with surfactant alone. To evaluate oviposition preference, we counted and removed eggs from all plants daily for 3 d. We also collected video data on a subset of butterflies to evaluate landing behavior. Results indicate that neither systemic nor foliar treatment with imidacloprid influenced oviposition behavior in female monarchs. The implications of these findings for monarch conservation practices will be informed by the results of ongoing egg and larval toxicity studies.

Conservation risks and benefits of establishing monarch butterfly (Danaus plexippus) breeding habitats close to maize and soybean fields in the north central United States: A landscape-scale analysis of the impact of foliar insecticide on nonmigratory monarch butterfly populations.

Establishing habitat in agricultural landscapes of the north central United States is critical to reversing the decline of North America's eastern monarch butterfly (Danaus plexippus) population. Insecticide use could create population sinks and threaten recovery. Discouraging habitat establishment within a 38-m zone around crop fields is a suggested risk mitigation measure. In Story County, Iowa, United States, this mitigation would discourage habitat establishment in 84% of roadsides and 38% of noncrop land. It is unclear if the conservation benefits from establishing habitat close to crop fields outweigh suppression of population growth owing to insecticide exposure. Consequently, monarch conservation plans require spatially and temporally explicit landscape-scale assessments. Using an agent-based model that incorporates female monarch movement and egg laying, the number and location of eggs laid in Story County were simulated for four habitat scenarios: current condition, maximum new establishment, moderate establishment, and moderate establishment only outside a 38-m no-plant zone around crop fields. A demographic model incorporated mortality from natural causes and insecticide exposure to simulate adult monarch production over 10 years. Assuming no insecticide exposure, simulated adult production increased 24.7% and 9.3%, respectively, with maximum and moderate habitat establishment and no planting restrictions. A 3.5% increase was simulated assuming moderate habitat establishment with a 38-m planting restriction. Impacts on adult production were simulated for six representative insecticides registered for soybean aphid (Aphis glycines) management. Depending on the frequency of insecticide applications over a 10-year period, simulated production increased 8.2%-9.3%, assuming moderate habitat establishment with no planting restrictions. Results suggest that the benefits of establishing habitat close to crop fields outweigh the adverse effects of insecticide spray drift; that is, metapopulation extirpation is not a concern for monarchs. These findings are only applicable to species that move at spatial scales greater than the scale of potential spray-drift impacts. Integr Environ Assess Manag 2021;17:989-1002. © 2021 The Authors. Integrated Environmental Assessment and Management published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of Society of Environmental Toxicology & Chemistry (SETAC).

Gender and the Monarchy in Belgium: Succession and the Exercise of Constitutional and Symbolic Power

This article explores the gendered dimensions of the Belgian monarchy by focusing on three distinct topics. First, the article addresses the matter of succession to the throne. In Belgium, the exclusion of women from succeeding to the monarchy came to an end in 1991, but the first female monarch has yet to ascend to the throne. Next, the article examines the gendered dimensions of the way in which Belgium’s recent monarchs have exercised their role. As the King’s political role is limited, this article also considers the symbolic role of the King, which carries over to his private and family life. After the crisis known as the “royal issue” in the early 1950s, there has been only one constitutional crisis in Belgium that directly involved the monarchy: the refusal of King Boudewijn (Baudouin/Baldwin) to assent to the law legalizing abortion in 1990. The refusal concerned not only the exercise of the constitutional role of the monarch, but also a key issue of the women’s movement, and this article examines the development and significance of this crisis. Finally, the article analyses the current controversy concerning the refusal of the former king, Albert II, to recognize an extramarital daughter. Men’s refusal to take on responsibility for (some of) the children they father is a classical theme of feminist indignation. Arguably, the former king’s attitude on this matter in his private and family life affects the symbolic power of the monarchy.