Queen Heonae of the Hwangju Hwangbo clan (Korean: 헌애왕후 황보씨; Hanja: 獻哀王后 皇甫氏; 964 – 20 January 1029), or formally called Grand Queen Dowager Heonae (Korean: 헌애왕태후; Hanja: 獻哀王太后), 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.
The future Queen Heonae was born in 964 as the second and oldest daughter of Wang Uk,[2] and his wife and half sister, Lady Yu.
By then, Heonae and her younger sister adopted Sinjeong's Hwangbo clan of Hwangju as their surname, which they used even after marrying their half first cousin.
Alongside her younger sister, Heonae entered King Gyeongjong's palace not long after his ascension and she became his third queen consort.
[4] As a queen dowager and regent, she summoned Kim to the palace and appointed him as a government official, giving him the position of secretarial receptionist (통사사인; 通事舍人; t'ongsa sain) of the Office of Audience Ceremonies.
[5] For this reason, the queen dowager and Kim repeatedly tried to kill her own nephew, Wang Sun, as he was an obstacle to their young son's accession, but failed every time.
Even after Mokjong came of age, the queen dowager still acted as his regent and held the biggest power in the court, alongside Kim.
Kang Cho then led a coup and dethroned King Mokjong, placing Wang Sun on the throne.