Suo jure in the context of Marriage

An emperor (from Latin: imperator, via Old French: empereor) is the (male) ruler of an empire. Empress, the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife (empress consort), mother/grandmother (empress dowager/grand empress dowager), or a woman who rules in her own right and name (empress regnant or suo jure). Emperors are generally recognized to be of the highest monarchic honour and rank, surpassing king. In Europe, the title of Emperor has been used since the Middle Ages, considered in those times equal or almost equal in dignity to that of Pope due to the latter's position as visible head of the Church and spiritual leader of the Catholic part of Western Europe. The emperor of Japan is the only currently reigning monarch whose title is translated into English as "Emperor", although he no longer reigns over an empire.

Both emperors and kings are monarchs or sovereigns, both emperor and empress are considered monarchical titles. In as much as there is a strict definition of emperor, it is that an emperor has no relations implying the superiority of any other ruler and typically rules over more than one nation. Therefore, a king might be obliged to pay tribute to another ruler, or be restrained in his actions in some unequal fashion, but an emperor should in theory be completely free of such restraints. However, monarchs heading empires have not always used the title in all contexts—the British sovereign did not assume the title Empress of the British Empire even during the incorporation of India, though she was declared Empress of India.

A queen regnant (pl.: queens regnant) is a female monarch, equivalent in rank, title and position to a king. She reigns suo jure (in her own right) over a realm known as a kingdom; as opposed to a queen consort, who is married to a reigning king; or a queen regent, who is the guardian of a child monarch and rules pro tempore in the child's stead or instead of her husband who is absent from the realm, be it de jure in sharing power or de facto in ruling alone. A queen regnant is sometimes called a woman king. A princess, duchess, or grand duchess regnant is a female monarch who reigns suo jure over a principality or (grand) duchy; an empress regnant is a female monarch who reigns suo jure over an empire.

A queen regnant possesses all the powers, such as they may be, of the monarchy, whereas a queen consort or queen regent shares her spouse's or child's rank and titles but does not share the sovereignty of her spouse or child. The husband of a queen regnant traditionally does not share the queen regnant’s rank, title, or sovereignty and usually holds a lower princely title. However, the concept of a king consort is not unheard of in both contemporary and historical periods.

Jure uxoris (a Latin phrase meaning "by right of (his) wife") describes a title of nobility used by a man because his wife holds the office or title suo jure ("in her own right"). Similarly, the husband of an heiress could become the legal possessor of her lands. For example, married women in England and Wales were legally prohibited from owning real estate until the Married Women's Property Act 1882.

A viceroy (/ˈvaɪsrɔɪ/) is an official who reigns over a polity in the name of and as the representative of the monarch of the territory.

The term derives from the Latin prefix vice-, meaning "in the place of" and the Anglo-Norman roy (Old French roi, roy), meaning "king". This denotes the position as one who acts on behalf of a king or monarch. A viceroy's territory may be called a viceroyalty, though this term is not always applied. The adjective form is viceregal, less often viceroyal. The term vicereine is sometimes used to indicate a female viceroy suo jure, although viceroy can serve as a gender-neutral term. Vicereine is more commonly used to indicate a viceroy's wife, known as the viceregal consort.

Louise of Savoy (11 September 1476 – 22 September 1531) was a French noble and regent, Duchess suo jure of Auvergne and Bourbon, Duchess of Nemours and the mother of King Francis I and Marguerite of Navarre. She was politically active and served as the regent of France in 1515, in 1525–1526 and in 1529, during the absence of her son.

A queen consort is the wife of a reigning king, and usually shares her spouse's social rank and status. She holds the feminine equivalent of the king's monarchical titles and may be crowned and anointed, but historically she does not formally share the king's political and military powers, unless on occasion acting as regent.

In contrast, a queen regnant is a female monarch who rules suo jure (Latin for, "in her own right") and usually becomes queen by inheriting the throne upon the death of the previous monarch.

The king or queen of Jerusalem was the supreme ruler of the Kingdom of Jerusalem, a Crusader state founded in Jerusalem by the Latin Catholic leaders of the First Crusade, when the city was conquered in 1099. Most of them were men, but there were also five queens regnant of Jerusalem, either reigning alone suo jure ("in her own right"), or as co-rulers of husbands who reigned as kings of Jerusalem jure uxoris ("by right of his wife").

Godfrey of Bouillon, the first ruler of the Kingdom of Jerusalem, refused the title of king choosing instead the title Advocatus Sancti Sepulchri, that is Advocate or Defender of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. In 1100 Baldwin I, Godfrey's successor, was the first ruler crowned as king. The crusaders in Jerusalem were conquered in 1187, but their Kingdom of Jerusalem survived, moving the capital to Acre in 1191. Crusaders re-captured the city of Jerusalem in the Sixth Crusade, during 1229–1239 and 1241–1244.

Dame is a traditionally British honorific title given to women who have been admitted to certain orders of chivalry. It is the female equivalent of Sir, the title used by knights. Baronetesses in their own right also use the title Dame.

A woman appointed to the grades of Dame Commander or Dame Grand Cross of the Order of Saint John, the Order of the Holy Sepulchre, the Order of the Bath, the Order of Saint Michael and Saint George, the Royal Victorian Order, or the Order of the British Empire becomes a dame. A Central European order in which female members receive the rank of Dame is the Order of Saint George. Since there is no female equivalent to a Knight Bachelor, women are always appointed to an order of chivalry. Women who are appointed to the Order of the Garter or the Order of the Thistle are given the title of Lady rather than Dame.

Queen of the Romans (Latin: Regina Romanorum, German: Königin der Römer) or Queen of the Germans were the official titles of the queens consort of the medieval and early modern Kingdom of Germany. They were the wives of the King of the Romans (chosen by imperial election), and are informally also known as German queen (German: Deutsche Königin). A Queen of the Romans also became Holy Roman Empress if her husband was crowned Holy Roman Emperor, in the Middle Ages usually by the Pope in Rome during an Italienzug. Most elected Kings of the Romans did, but some never made it that far, and thus their wives only ever achieved the status of Queen of the Romans.

Empress Maria Theresa (1745–1780) is often considered to be a ruler in her own right, as she was Queen regnant of Bohemia and Hungary, and although her husband Francis I was crowned Holy Roman Emperor in 1745, it was she who ruled the Empire and continued to do so even after Francis' death in 1765 before ruling jointly with her son Emperor Joseph II.

This is a list of women who held the title Princess of Orange by marriage.

Princess of Orange is the title used by the female heirs apparent and, prior to 2002, spouses of male heirs apparent. The present Princess of Orange, Catharina-Amalia, is the first suo jure holder since Marie (1393–1417), who co-reigned with her husband John (1393–1418). From 1171 to 1815 the title was also used by women married to the sovereign Princes of Orange during their reigns, and then by wives of heirs apparent to the Dutch throne. On 30 April 2013, after the accession of her father, Willem-Alexander, to the Dutch throne, Catharina-Amalia became Princess of Orange and heir apparent to the throne.