What lead to England and later Great Britain having so many prominent female monarchs?

by Ikkon

Great Britain is the only country which the first historical ruler that comes to my head is a queen.

Queen Elizabeth I, Queen Anne, Queen Victoria, even now Queen Elizabeth II is one of the most well knows political figures in the world, despite not having much real power. There were some powerful non-British Queens like Catherine the Great or Maria Theresa, but they were a pretty rare exceptions. A lot of European countries never even had a single queen.

Was there anything particular about England/Great Britain that made it more common for women to ascend to the throne? Or is it just a coincidence that so many British queens became so well know?

mimicofmodes

Actually, there were a lot of queens in other countries - they just don't tend to be as well-known in the anglosphere as English queens. I have several past answers that deal with some:

Were women monarchs as respected as their male counterparts?

When Isabella and Ferdinand joined the houses of Castile and Aragon, they ruled as practically equals. Was it unusual for a queen to wield such political power and influence in 15th Century Europe; and what did contemporaries write about the extent of Isabella’s power and influence over Spain?

On Berenguela of Castile (Tuesday Trivia)

What was the relationship between Queen Joanna the Mad and her children like

There are two reasons why England/Great Britain/the UK had the number of queens that it did: 1) there was no law against it, as was implemented in France, and 2) some kings just didn't have male heirs for various reasons. That's really it.