Queen Gongwon


Queen Gongwon of the Namyang Hong clan, more commonly known as Queen Dowager Myeongdeok, was a Korean royal consort as the fourth wife of King Chungsuk of Goryeo and the mother of his two successors, Chunghye and Gongmin.

Biography

Early life and background

The future Queen Gongwon was born on 25 August 1298 into the Namyang Hong clan as the fifth daughter of Hong Gyu. Her mother was a woman from the Gwangju Gim clan. Lady Sunhwa, King Chungseon's fifth wife, was one of her elder sisters.

Marriage and palace life

In 1313, she married King Chungsuk and was promoted to Consort Deok, while her biological parents were given the honorary titles of Internal Prince Namyang and Grand Madame of Gwangju County. She was rumored to be intelligent and tidy when she was young, and after entering the palace, it was said that she followed the etiquette carefully and was loved by the king.
In 1315, she gave birth to her first son, Wang Jeong. Although she was the king's first wife, Goryeo kings had to marry Yuan imperial women, so she had to move into Duke Jeongan's manor. However, the king left the palace every night to meet her, which made Yilianzhenbala, the Yuan princess, hate Lady Hong badly.
In 1318, Lady Hong, the king and the princess went to Yeongyeong Palace to enjoy a banquet. At this time, when the king approached Lady Hong, Yilianzhenbala felt jealous and fought with him. The fight eventually escalated and he hit her. Yilianzhenbala suddenly died a year later and subsequently, the other Yuan princess, Jintong, also died during childbirth. Thus, the relationship between the king and Lady Hong deepened. In 1330, she gave birth to their second son, Wang Gi.
Not long after this, the king abdicated the throne to Wang Jeong and their relationship began to crack little by little; finally, he expelled to her hometown and banned her from meeting their son. In 1332, Lady Hong was restored and she returned to Gaegyeong.

Two sons' reign

During King Chunghye's reign, her residence was called as Deokgyeong Mansion, but the name was changed into Munye Mansion during King Gongmin's reign. Also under his command, she was elevated to Dowager Consort and later received the new honorary name, Royal Queen Dowager Sungyeong while stayed in Sungyeong Mansion.
She was in a confrontation with Sin Don and frequently made remarks about the radical reform policies of Gongmin. In particular, when she saw him executing several officials who were obstacles to the policies, she reproached him. When Sin Don was executed, her relationship with her son improved.
After Gongmin's death, her grandson ascended the throne as King U. In 1376, the boy's biological mother, a slave belonging to Sin Don called Banya, snuck into her residence to protest the fact that she was not acknowledged as the king's mother. Lady Hong drove the woman out, and later had her thrown into the Imjin River.

Death

Lady Hong lived for another 40 years after her husband's death, dying on 12 February 1380 at 81 years old. She then received her posthumous name and was buried in the Yeongneung Mausoleum. Until 1391, her ancestral rites were held alongside those of King Chungjeong's biological mother, Lady Yun. Shortly after her death, her relatives and supporters, such as Gyeong Bok-heung, were immediately purged.

Family