Queen Heonae of the Hwangju Hwangbo clan, or formally called Grand Queen Dowager Heonae, was a Goryeo royal family member as the second and oldest daughter of Wang Uk, and younger sister of King Seongjong who became a queen consort through her marriage with her half first cousin, King Gyeongjong as his third wife.
11 Facts About Queen Heonae
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From this marriage, Queen Heonae became the third Goryeo queen who adopted her maternal clan's surname after Queen Heonui, her half first cousin.
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Queen Heonae is better known as Queen Dowager Cheonchu.
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The future Queen Heonae was born in 964 as the second and oldest daughter of Wang Uk, and his wife and half sister, Lady Yu.
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Queen Heonae had three brothers and a younger sister who would become the biological mother of the 8th ruler, King Hyeonjong.
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Alongside her younger sister, Heonae entered King Gyeongjong's palace not long after his ascension and she became his third queen consort.
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Shortly after this, the new queen became pregnant and Gyeongjong was said to be very happy since he didn't have any heirs from the other two queens: the lack of an heir was a concern, so at the same time Heonae became pregnant, she became his favorite one.
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The Queen Heonae then left the palace and stayed outside from it.
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Queen Heonae then stayed in Cheonchu Hall, Cheonchu Palace, leading to her being known as Queen Dowager Cheonchu.
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Meanwhile, after King Gyeongjong's death, Queen Heonae met Kim Ch'i-yang, who came from the Tongju Kim clan and became pretended to be a monk early on.
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Queen Heonae then died at 66 years old in her chamber, Sungdeok Palace in Gaegyeong.