Queen Jeongseong


Queen Jeongseong, of the Daegu Seo clan, was the first wife of King Yeongjo of Joseon and the adoptive mother of Crown Prince Sado.

Biography

It's said the queen was born on 12 January 1693 in Gahoebang, Hanseong. She was the second daughter and fourth child of Seo Jong-jae and Lady Yi of the Ubong Yi clan.
In November 1703, at the age of ten, she married the eight-year-old Prince Yeoning. As the wife of a prince, she was given the title of Princess Consort Dalseong.
In 1720, her husband was appointed as Crown Prince. As his wife, she was given the title Crown Princess Consort. On their first night of marriage, it was said that Prince Yeoning had asked how were the hands of the princess so pretty. The princess responded by saying that she never did any labor to get them dirty. This comment had unsettled the Prince because it reminded him of his mother, Royal Noble Consort Suk.
It was said that from then on to her death as Queen, the Princess was not visited much from the Prince.
In 1724, Prince Yeoning's older brother, King Gyeongjong died. Prince Yeoning ascended the throne on 30 August of that year as King Yeongjo and she became his queen consort.
As queen, it was said that she held a generous character to her. The Queen had also cherished and treated Crown Prince Hyojang, Yi Jeong-bin's son, and Crown Prince Sado, Yi Yeong-bin’s son, as if they were her own sons.
The Queen died at Changdeok Palace on 3 April 1757, and is buried in Seoreung within Hongreung in Yongdu-gong, Deokyang ward, Goyang, Gyeonggi Province. King Yeongjo had her buried near his father, Sukjong of Joseon, in Myeongreung. But because her tomb was built before her husband died, King Yeongjo reserved a spot next her mound intending to be buried with her.
However, when King Yeongjo died in 1776, King Jeongjo was conscious of the Queen Dowager, and built Wonreung to bury the former King and later, the late Queen Dowager. As a result, Queen Jeongseong is buried there alone.
Queen Jeongseong had no biological children. But her death distressed her adoptive son, Crown Prince Sado. As well as the death of her legal mother-in-law, Queen Dowager Hyesun, who died one month later on 2 May 1757 which contributed to the Crown Prince’s declining mental condition.

Family

ParentFather − Seo Jong-jae Mother − Internal Princess Consort Jamseong of the Ubong Yi clan
Sibling
  • Older brother − Seo Myeong-baek
  • Older sister − Lady Seo of the Daegu Seo clan
  • Older brother − Seo Myeong-hyu
  • Younger sister − Lady Seo of the Daegu Seo clan
  • Younger sister − Lady Seo of the Daegu Seo clan

In popular culture