Berserk of Gluttony - Vol. 10 Ch. 52 - Farewell to Aaron

[Grikath]

"Queen" refers to the wife of a king, quite literally. What you are referring to is the title known as Queen Regnant, where "regnant" is the indicative of a queen ruling in place of a king, aka ruling in regency. This was often done where there was no male heir, or a male heir was too young to rule, all because it followed until very recently the rule of male-preference cognatic primogeniture. This is also why queens are always women and kings are not always men, because kingship is determined as being the ultimate ruler of the land. This is also why there is the distinction between a Queen and a Queen Regnant. It is only because of Elizabeth II, ruling for so long from 19261952 through to 2022, that the concept of "Queen Regnant" was simplified to just being "Queen" in common parlance.

Just because people are ignorant of something does not excuse false claims.

Very much this... "Queen" is in essence a personal title, "King" is the Head of State.
Old Liz was formally Queen Elisabeth II, King of England and Wales, Queen of Scotland, King of France (!) ( and yes.. they dropped that one later, but...), etc.

Formally, the highest title anyone could possibly carry personally whichever way you swing it is "Prince" or "Princess".
The Crown and title of King/Queen is bestowed by a "College of Peers and Liegemen" [local variations matter, check your local Constitution/Tractate/Runestone...] since.. the Carolingian Age here in Western Europe.

Hereditary rule had a bit of a slapdash application, cosanginuity was a problem in many, many ways, and there is always Cousin Larry who feels he has the right to the Throne, because...
So even in the Old Days you needed to be confirmed by at least the local high nobility ( often with their own money and/or army...) to have even a chance of parking your arse on that fancy chair for long enough to matter.
Plenty of examples where the system broke down and... Interesting Times... happened. The War of the Roses is the most famous and extensive one, but there are plenty of other examples all over Europe.

 

[Meathir]

I still find it funny that the author stole Grand Cross from Castlevania wholesale. Like, it’s even a pillar of Christian Crosses and everything; they’re not even trying.