History Main / RulingCouple

* In a minor case, Bill Clinton and Hillary Clinton during Bill's presidency. Bill advertised the fact that the couple will be working together during the presidency as a "two-for-the-price-of-one" deal, and Hillary, as first lady, publicly involved herself in policy decisions in a manner never seen before or since (other first ladies, if they get involved in policy, tend to stick to more nonpartisan subjects like healthy eating). This was ''not'' universally viewed positively; see the page quote for a case of it being parodied for comedic purposes.

* King Verence II and Queen Magrat of Lancre in ''Literature/{{Discword}}'', although they're honestly ''both'' pretty ineffectual most of the time.

* This was the case when Mary I of England, the country's first official queen regnant, decided to marry Prince Philip of Spain. At the time, law dictated that a man was entitled to possession of his wife's titles and property (known as the concept of ''jure uxoris''). Philip was next in line to inherit the Spanish throne, and the English were worried the marriage would turn the country into a satellite of Spain. Parliament passed the Queen Mary's Marriage Act, essentially a prenup and business contract between England and Spain, to regulate the marriage, which stipulated that Philip would be titled as king and serve as Mary's co-monarch and govern England with her, but placed some limitations on his power and stipulated he would have no right to succeed her as sole monarch if he outlived her. Mary predeceased him, ending his ''jure uxoris'' claim as king, and the crown passed to Mary's half-sister UsefulNotes/ElizabethI.

* UsefulNotes/QueenVictoria and Prince Albert. Victoria and Albert had nine children, so needless to say, Victoria spent a lot of time pregnant (and, therefore, unable to attend to many matters of state); Albert was effectively the monarch while Victoria was otherwise occupied with carrying and nursing the forbears of nearly every royal family of Europe. Still, even when Victoria was at her best, she relied a great deal on Albert's advice and support. While ''officially'' they were not equals, Victoria disagreed with this and wanted to title him as "king consort", but Parliament would not allow it as Albert was a foreigner and the title of king is reserved for monarchs.[[note]](They settled on "prince consort".)[[/note]] It also was arguably the case that Victoria was the first European monarch to marry for love rather than purely political reasons. Tragically, this came to an end when he died at the age of just 42, forcing Victoria to live out half of her life without both her most trusted advisor ''and'' the love of her life.

* William III and Mary II reigned as co-monarchs over England, Scotland, and Ireland as a compromise - Mary had the better claim as the oldest legitimate child of James II, but William was also her cousin and fourth in line for the throne himself, and he already had considerable power in the Netherlands in his own right, while also being more popular with those who didn't want to see a woman on the throne. Also, the pair had kind of shown up at the head of a (mostly) Dutch army, and while they (mostly) didn’t need to use that army, everyone knew where their power to execute their coup came from. (Hint: It was the Dutch guy.) Mary herself also refused to reign as sole sovereign, because she felt it would be unfair to her husband.

* This was the case when Mary I of England, the country's first official queen regnant, decided to marry Prince Philip of Spain. At the time, law dictated that a man was entitled to possession of his wife's titles and property (known as the concept of ''jure uxoris''). He was next in line to inherit the Spanish throne, and the English were worried the marriage would turn the country into a satellite of Spain. Parliament passed the Queen Mary's Marriage Act, essentially a prenup and business contract between England and Spain, to regulate the marriage, which stipulated that Philip would be titled as king and serve as her co-monarch and govern England with her, but placed some limitations on his power and stipulated he would have no right to succeed her as sole monarch if he outlived her. Mary predeceased him, ending his ''jure uxoris'' claim as king, and the crown passed to her half-sister UsefulNotes/ElizabethI.
* William III and Mary II of England, Scotland, and Ireland, as a compromise - she had the better claim, but not by much (he was her cousin), and he already had considerable power in the Netherlands in his own right, while also being more popular with those who didn't want to see a woman on the throne. Also, the pair had kind of shown up at the head of a (mostly) Dutch army, and while they (mostly) didn’t need to use that army, everyone knew where their power to execute their coup came from. (Hint: It was the Dutch guy.) Mary herself also refused to reign as sole sovereign, because she felt it would be unfair to her husband.

* In ''Manga/RedRiver1995'', Prince Kail Mursili and {{Time Travel}}er Yuri Ishtar aspire to become this so they can justly rule over the Hitite Empire and fend off the BigBad, Queen Nakia. [[spoiler: They succeed.]] For more bonus points, Yuri is [[spoiler: an {{expy}} of the below mentioned Queen Puduhepa, who in history was Mursili's daughter-in-law and later became a key part in the rule of her husband Hattusili.]]

** ''ComicBook/WonderWomanRebirth'': The flashback child Diana stories show the Philippus and Hippolyta's relationship is official, and as Queen and Captain of the Guard they are the two most powerful women among the Amazons.

* ''Series/GameOfThrones'' portrays King Renly Baratheon and Queen Margaery Tyrell (who got very little focus in the books) as an example of this. Margaery is Renly's [[TheBeard Beard]] since his real lover is her brother Loras, but she's also his ambitious LadyMacbeth (jointly with Loras--a Ruling OneTrueThreesome, perhaps? Actress Natalie Dormer has described them as a trinity, and Renly is seen TalkingInBed with Loras about matters of state), his [[TheGoodChancellor counsellor]], his [[SlaveToPR spin doctor]] and his guarantee of support from her wealthy and powerful family. (Renly himself is rightfully the SpareToTheThrone, and needs all the legitimate power he can get.) When we see them holding an informal court, they're sitting in two equally prominent thrones. Renly even incorporates the Tyrell colors into his sigil. [[spoiler:We never get to see what they would have been like as true rulers due to Renly's death, but as of season three Margaery is busy getting her hooks into her new fiancée, King Joffrey. When Joffrey himself is killed via poisoning, she's married off to his younger brother Tommen, and they are on the road to being something close to this, at least until her death.]]

----> [[spoiler: '''Alistair''']]: Just because she killed an ''Archdemon'', she doesn't scare me!
----> '''Teagan''': You keep ''telling'' yourself that, Your Majesty...

* ''Franchise/KingdomHearts'': [[WesternAnimation/MickeyMouse King Mickey]] and [[WesternAnimation/MinnieMouse Queen Minnie]] are the HappilyMarried rulers of Disney Castle, and interacts with characters implies an equivalent power dynamic between them. Within the series, though, Mickey primarily serves as a [[RoyalsWhoActuallyDoSomething Royal Who Actually Does Something]], traveling the multiverse fighting bad guys, while the more administrative aspects are done by Minnie. (This makes sense, since this franchise uses ''Mickey Donald Goofy: The Three Musketeers'' as backstory, making Minnie the one with RoyalBlood.)

* William III and Mary II of England, Scotland and Ireland, as a compromise - she had the better claim, but not by much (he was her cousin), and he already had considerable power in the Netherlands in his own right, while also being more popular with those who didn't want to see a woman on the throne. Also, the pair had kind of shown up at the head of a (mostly) Dutch army, and while they (mostly) didn’t need to use that army, everyone knew where their power to execute their coup came from. (Hint: It was the Dutch guy.) Mary herself also refused to reign as sole sovereign, because she felt it would be unfair to her husband.

* The Spartans had a subversion of this. They had two kings and on top of that a whole busload of other institutions to rule. Most of the time, though, one king tended to get the upper hand, even though theoretically speaking both were equal. Another important point is that neither of the Spartan kings had any direct authority over domestic affairs; their ''only'' role was as a war leader and ceremonial religious figure (both of which were of course a huge deal in [[BloodKnight warlike]] and deeply religious Sparta); their only domestic political authority came from their ''ex officio'' positions in the ''gerousia'' (the Spartan Senate or Council of Elders). Actual lawmaking power was vested in the ephors (more-or-less elective magistrates),[[note]]More or less, because the way they were chosen was a little weird; they were chosen at random from among candidates elected by the citizens. While odd to modern sensibilities--and to some contemporaries (the Romans found it delightfully odd)--it was a fairly common arrangement among the ancient Greek republics (the Athenians used a similar system for some offices, saying they liked to give the gods the final say in such matters).[[/note]] the popular assembly,[[note]]That is, the assembly of all adult male Spartan citizens[[/note]] and the ''gerousia''. However, for complicated reasons Spartan women were often so rich they could buy votes in the assembly and ''gerousia'' (to say nothing of being able to bribe ephors), meaning that if a Spartan king married the right heiress he and his wife could have absolute control over the state's domestic and foreign affairs.

* In general, queens in Medieval Europe - though they rarely possessed ''more'' power than the king - had a good deal of power and, accordingly, duties to fulfill. [[http://www.thefinertimes.com/Middle-Ages/queens-in-the-middle-ages.html Among these duties]] were acting as an advisor, organizing festivities, and in some cases making financial or legal decisions or serving as regent (should the reigning monarch be indisposed or away). In cases of the queen holding the title, it can be reasonably presumed that the king served similar roles.

* Ferdinand and Isabella of Spain (you know, the ones from 1492, Columbus sailing the ocean blue, turning on the Emir of Grenada because God told them to, those guys). [[TheWomanWearingTheQueenlyMask Isabella was an effective queen regnant of Castile in her own right]], and marrying Ferdinand of Aragon united their two kingdoms into one Spain.
** Ferdinand and Isabella's daughter, Joanna, and Joanna's husband, Philip of Burgundy, were ''supposed'' to be this. But they spent their first year or two as rulers of Castile bickering with Ferdinand (Isabella had predeceased him in 1504) about whether he should be regent of Castile until he died and passed the whole kingdom down to his daughter, or if Joanna and Philip should rule in Castile right now. The issue became moot when Philip died unexpectedly in 1506, and then Joanna's depression and mental illness popped up, and the whole thing ended rather badly.

%% Image added per Image Pickin' thread: https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=1442880753037800500

[[quoteright:242:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/ferdinand_isabella181.jpg]]

** In ''VideoGame/FireEmblemFates'', [[spoiler: when the player finishes the ''Revelation'' path, the Avatar is crowned as the King or Queen of the reborn Kingdom of Valla. If said Avatar is married, his/her consort are specifically said to double as the new sovereign's NumberTwo and, in Azura's case, advisor.]]

* A unique example in ''WesternAnimation/TheBookOfLife''. Xibalba and La Muerte are rulers, but each governs different worlds.

* ''Literature/TenSixtySixAndAllThat'' plays with this by combining William III and Mary II into "the memorable Dutch King Williamanmary," though it also portrays this CompositeCharacter as a non-anthropomorphic orange.

* ''Series/GameOfThrones'' portrays King Renly Baratheon and Queen Margaery Tyrell (who got very little focus in the books) as an example of this. Margaery is Renly's [[TheBeard Beard]] since his real lover is her brother Loras, but she's also his ambitious LadyMacbeth (jointly with Loras--a Ruling OneTrueThreesome, perhaps? Actress Natalie Dormer has described them as a trinity, and Renly is seen TalkingInBed with Loras about matters of state), his [[TheGoodChancellor counsellor]], his [[SlaveToPR spin doctor]] and his guarantee of support from her wealthy and powerful family. (Renly himself is rightfully the SpareToTheThrone, and needs all the legitimate power he can get). When we see them holding an informal court, they're sitting in two equally prominent thrones. Renly even incorporates the Tyrell colors into his sigil. [[spoiler:We never get to see what they would have been like as true rulers due to Renly's death, but as of season three Margaery is busy getting her hooks into her new fiancée, King Joffrey. When Joffrey himself is killed via poisoning, she's married off to his younger brother Tommen, and they are on the road to being something close to this, at least until her death.]]

* ''Franchise/KingdomHearts'': [[WesternAnimation/MickeyMouse King Mickey]] and [[WesternAnimation/MinnieMouse Queen Minnie]] are the HappilyMarried rulers of Disney Castle, and interacts with characters implies an equivalent power dynamic between them. Within the series, though, Mickey primarily serves as a [[RoyalsWhoActuallyDoSomething Royal Who Actually Does Something]], traveling the multiverse fighting bad guys, while the more administrative aspects are done by Minnie. (This makes sense, since this game uses ''Mickey Donald Goofy: The Three Musketeers'' as backstory, making Minnie the one with RoyalBlood.)

* Justinian and his wife Theodora co-led the [[UsefulNotes/TheByzantineEmpire Eastern Roman Empire]]. This had some interesting effects (particularly given their religious disagreements, by which standard she was technically a [[UsefulNotes/HeresiesAndHeretics heretic]]...), but his regime only survived the Nika revolt by virtue of her fortitude, so... all is forgiven, we guess?

* In general, queens in Medieval Europe - though they rarely possessed ''more'' power than the king - had a good deal of power and, accordingly, duties to fulfill. [[http://www.thefinertimes.com/Middle-Ages/queens-in-the-middle-ages.html Among these duties]] were acting as an advisor, organizing festivities, and in some cases making financial or legal decisions or serving as regent (should the reigning monarch be indisposed or away). In cases of the queen holding the title, it can be reasonably presumed that the king served similar roles.

* Ferdinand and Isabella of Spain (you know, the ones from 1492, Columbus sailing the ocean blue, turning on the Emir of Grenada because God told them to, those guys). [[TheWomanOfTheQueenlyMask Isabella was an effective queen regnant of Castile in her own right]], and marrying Ferdinand of Aragon united their two kingdoms into one Spain.
** Ferdinand and Isabella's daughter Joanna and Joanna's husband Philip of Burgundy were ''supposed'' to be this. But they spent their first year or two as rulers of Castile bickering with Ferdinand (Isabella had predeceased him in 1504) about whether he should be Regent of Castile until he died and passed the whole kingdom down to his daughter, or if Joanna and Philip should rule in Castile right now. The issue became moot when Philip died unexpectedly in 1506, and then Joanna's depression and mental illness popped up, and the whole thing ended rather badly.
* This was the case when Mary I of England, the country's first official queen regnant, decided to marry Prince Philip of Spain. At the time, law dictated that a man was entitled to possession of his wife's titles and property (known as the concept of ''jure uxoris''). Philip was next in line to inherit the Spanish throne, and the English were worried the marriage would turn the country into a satellite of Spain. Parliament passed the Queen Mary's Marriage Act, essentially a prenup and business contract between England and Spain, to regulate the marriage, which stipulated that Philip would be titled as king and serve as Mary's co-monarch and govern England with her, but placed some limitations on his power and stipulated he would have no right to succeed her as sole monarch if he outlived her. Mary predeceased him, ending his ''jure uxoris'' claim as king, and the crown passed to Mary's half-sister UsefulNotes/ElizabethI.

* Nicholas and Alexandra of Russia, at least after UsefulNotes/WorldWarI broke out. After Nicholas took personal command of the army and went to the front, Alexandra ruled in Petrograd in his stead. It didn't work out so well, because both were incompetent: Nicholas as a military leader (though half-competent as a peacetime monarch, we should give him at least some credit), Alexandra in everything in general.
* Suleiman the Magnificent and his wife Roxelana, who was an important advisor to him after being freed from his harem and becoming the first [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haseki_sultan Haseki Sultan]] aka "chief wife" to the Ottoman rulers.
* Emperor Justinian and his wife Theodora co-led the [[UsefulNotes/TheByzantineEmpire Eastern Roman Empire]]. This had some interesting effects (particularly given their religious disagreements, by which standard the Empress was technically a [[UsefulNotes/HeresiesAndHeretics heretic]]...), but his regime only survived the Nika revolt by virtue of her fortitude, so...all is forgiven, we guess?

* King Hattusili III and Queen Puduhepa from the Hittite Empire. They ruled together, with Hattusili in charge of the military while Puduhepa handled the diplomatic issues.
* King Edward III of England and Queen Philippa are indicated by many historical records to have been this; they had a PerfectlyArrangedMarriage complete with ten children, and she frequently governed England on his behalf while he was fighting in the Hundred Years' War.
* King Henry II and Eleanor of Aquitaine... at least until Eleanor and their sons rebelled against Henry.
* Roman Emperor {{UsefulNotes/Augustus}} and his third wife, Livia. After his death, she and her son Tiberius, Augustus' successor, shared power for a few years.
* Emperor Claudius, Livia's grandson, had this sort of relationship with his third wife, Messalina, and his fourth wife, Agrippina. It didn't end well.
* During the Tang Dynasty, Tang Gaozong's second empress UsefulNotes/WuZetian exercised great power during his reign, especially in the later half when Gaozong was marred by ill health. While traditional Chinese historians had rated him weak and ineffectual, modern evaluations of his and Wu's reigns were more positive, with many attributing the couple as setting foundations for the prosperity during their grandson Xuanzong's early reign.

* After UsefulNotes/WoodrowWilson suffered a stroke, first lady Edith Wilson became a presidential "shadow steward", vetting what matters of state were important enough to bother him with. Such was her influence, it has been argued that she became the ''de facto'' co-president or even acting president.

* Ferdinand and Isabella of Spain. Isabella was queen regnant of Castile in her own right, and marrying Ferdinand of Aragon united their two kingdoms into one Spain.

* This was the case when Mary I of England, the country's first official queen regnant, decided to marry Prince Philip of Spain. At the time, law dictated that a man was entitled to possession of his wife's titles and property (known as the concept of ''jure uxoris''). Philip was next in line to inherit the Spanish throne, and the English were worried the marriage would turn the country into a satellite of Spain. Parliament passed the Queen Mary's Marriage Act, essentially a prenup and business contract between England and Spain, to regulate the marriage, which stipulated that Philip would be titled as king and serve as Mary's co-monarch and govern England with her, but placed some limitations on his power and stipulated he would have no right to succeed her as sole monarch if he outlived her (which is what happened).

* William III and Mary II of England, Scotland and Ireland, as a compromise - she had the better claim, but not by much (he was her cousin), and he already had considerable power in the Netherlands in his own right, while also being more popular with those who didn't want to see a woman on the throne. Mary herself also refused to reign as sole sovereign, because she felt it would be unfair to her husband.

* Ferdinand and Isabella of Spain. Isabella was Queen Regnant of Castile in her own right, and marrying Ferdinand of Aragon united their two kingdoms into one Spain.

* In a minor case, Bill Clinton and Hillary Clinton during Bill's presidency. Bill advertised the fact that the couple will be working together during the presidency as a "two-for-the-price-of-one" deal, and Hillary as First Lady publicly involved herself in policy decisions in a manner never seen before or since (other First Ladies, if they get involved in policy, tend to stick to more bipartisan subjects like healthy eating). This was ''not'' universally viewed positively; see the page quote for a case of it being parodied for comedic purposes.
* After UsefulNotes/WoodrowWilson suffered a stroke, First Lady Edith Wilson became a presidential "shadow steward", vetting what matters of state were important enough to bother him with. Such was her influence, it has been argued that she became the ''de facto'' co-president or even acting president.

* UsefulNotes/QueenVictoria and Prince Albert. Victoria and Albert had nine children, so needless to say, Victoria spent a lot of time pregnant (and, therefore, unable to attend to many matters of state); Albert was effectively the monarch while Victoria was otherwise occupied with carrying and nursing the forbears of nearly every royal family of Europe. Still, even when Victoria was at her best, she relied a great deal on Albert's advice and support. While ''officially'' they were not equals, Victoria disagreed with this and wanted to title him as "king consort", but Parliament would not allow this as Albert was a foreigner and the title of king is reserved for monarchs.[[note]](Parliament would allow "prince consort".)[[/note]] It also was arguably the case that Victoria was the first European monarch to marry for love rather than purely political reasons. Tragically, this came to an end when he died at the age of just 42, forcing Victoria to live out half of her life without both her most trusted advisor ''and'' the love of her life.

* UsefulNotes/QueenVictoria and Prince Albert. Victoria and Albert had nine children. Needless to say, Victoria spent a lot of time pregnant (and, therefore, unable to attend to many matters of state); Albert was effectively the monarch while Victoria was otherwise occupied carrying and nursing the forbears of nearly every royal family of Europe. Still, even when Victoria was at her best, she relied a great deal on Albert's advice and support. While ''officially'' they were not equals (hence Parliament not allowing him to be King Albert), Victoria disagreed with this (she very much wanted to name him King Consort as well). It also was arguably the case that Victoria was the first European monarch to marry for love rather than purely political reasons. Tragically, this came to an end when he died at the age of just 42, forcing Victoria to live out half of her life without both her most trusted advisor ''and'' the love of her life.