Queen Jangnyeol


Queen Jangryeol also known as Queen Dowager Jaui was a wife and the Queen Consort of King Injo of Joseon, the 16th monarch of the Joseon Dynasty of Korea.

Biography

Three years after his first queen consort’s death, Injo of Joseon chose a new consort to be crowned as his queen, who was the fourteen-year old Queen Jangryeol. Her relationship with Injo was not good due to the fact that she could not bear a son, thus she left the main palace at that time, Changdeok Palace, to live in Gyeongdeok Palace.
After Injo’s death, she was elevated to the rank of a dowager and formally addressed as Queen Dowager Jaui. Disputes happened during the death of her stepson, Hyojong, and his wife, Queen Inseon, where the factions argued on the duration in which Queen Jangryeol would have to wear the mourning attire or sangbok. The incident was known as Yesong Dispute: for Hyojong of Joseon’s funeral, it became an issue to determine whether the dowager should be mourning for three or one year, while for Queen Inseon, either one year or nine months.
Hyeonjong of Joseon became the king and Queen Jangryeol officially became the great royal queen dowager. Since she did not have any children, she led a solitary life until her death during Sukjong of Joseon’s reign after living 50 years of her life as a woman of the royal palace.

Titles