Queen dowager explained
A queen dowager or dowager queen (compare: princess dowager or dowager princess) is a title or status generally held by the widow of a king. In the case of the widow of an emperor, the title of empress dowager is used. Its full meaning is clear from the two words from which it is composed: queen indicates someone who served as queen consort (i.e. wife of a king), while dowager indicates a woman who continues to hold the title from her deceased husband (a queen who reigns in her own right is a queen regnant). A queen mother is a former queen consort, often a dowager queen, who is the mother of the reigning monarch.
As of 2024, there are four queens dowager: Kesang Choden of Bhutan (who is the only living queen grandmother worldwide), Norodom Monineath of Cambodia (who is also queen mother), Lisa Najeeb Halaby (Noor Al'Hussein) of Jordan, and Sirikit Kitiyakara of Thailand (who is also queen mother).
Status
A queen dowager has an important royal position (whether or not she is the mother of the reigning sovereign) but does not normally have any rights to succeed a king as monarch on his death unless she happens to be next in line to the throne (one possibility would be if the king and queen were also cousins and childless, the king had no other siblings, and she in her other position as his cousin was also his heiress presumptive).
A queen dowager continues to enjoy the title, style, and precedence of a queen, but is no longer referred to as the queen. A new reigning king would have (at accession or eventually) a wife who would be the new queen consort and therefore the queen; a queen regnant would also be called the queen. Many former queens consort do not formally use the word "dowager" as part of their titles. There may be more than one queen dowager at any given time. The Garter King of Arms's proclamation in the United Kingdom of the styles and titles of Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother at her funeral on 9 April 2002 illustrates her dual status as a queen dowager and a queen mother:
Distinction from queen mother
A queen mother is a former queen, often a queen dowager, who is the mother of the current monarch. Not every queen mother is a queen dowager, such as Queen Paola of Belgium, who became the queen mother of her son Philippe after her husband Albert II abdicated the throne but retained the title of king.[1] Not all queens dowager are the queen mother; they may have a relation other than mother to the reigning monarch, such as aunt or grandmother. For example, Mary, Queen of Scots, was queen dowager of France after the death of her husband Francis II, to whom she bore no children. Similarly, Adelaide of Saxe-Meiningen was queen dowager after her husband William IV was succeeded by his niece Victoria.
Not every mother of a reigning monarch is the queen mother or a queen dowager. For example, the mother of Queen Victoria of United Kingdom, Victoria of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld, was neither a queen dowager nor the queen mother because her husband, Edward Augustus, Duke of Kent, had never been king. Similarly, whilst being the mothers of monarchs, both Augusta of Saxe-Gotha and Srinagarindra of Thailand were not styled queen dowager because their respective husbands, Frederick, Prince of Wales and Mahidol Adulyadej, Prince of Songkla, were never kings. Instead, Augusta held the title of "Dowager Princess of Wales" (a precedent was Henry VII of England's mother, Lady Margaret Beaufort, titled "My Lady the King's Mother"); Srinagarindra meanwhile received the designation "Princess Mother".
As there is only one monarch, there can only be one queen mother. It is possible for there to be a queen mother and one or more queens dowager alive at any one time. This situation occurred in the Commonwealth realms in the period between the accession of Queen Elizabeth II on 6 February 1952 and the death of her paternal grandmother on 24 March 1953, when, for slightly over a year, there were three queens alive:
- Queen Elizabeth II, the reigning monarch (queen regnant).
- Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother, the widow of the deceased King George VI and the mother of the reigning queen. Queen Elizabeth, the former queen consort, specifically adopted the appellation queen mother to distinguish herself from her daughter, Queen Elizabeth II. She reportedly loathed being referred to as a dowager queen, and felt there would be confusion if she were called simply by her name, as her two immediate predecessors, Queen Mary and Queen Alexandra, had been.
- Queen Mary, the widow of King George V, the mother of the former king Edward VIII (the then Duke of Windsor) and of the late King George VI. Queen Mary had been the queen mother from the death of her husband in 1936 until the accession of her granddaughter, Queen Elizabeth II, in 1952. She continued to be titled and styled Her Majesty Queen Mary.
British queens dowager
See also: British queen mothers. There were several former queens consort of England, Scotland, and later the United Kingdom, who were never queen mothers. The following queens were dowagers between the given dates, whether queen mothers or not:
Of England:
- Edith of Wessex 5 January 1066 – 18 December 1075, wife of Edward the Confessor; sister of Harold Godwinson.
- Adeliza of Louvain 1 December 1135 – 23 April 1151, wife of Henry I of England; remarried to William d'Aubigny, 1st Earl of Arundel in 1139.
- Eleanor of Aquitaine 6 July 1189 – 1 April 1204, wife of Henry II of England; queen mother to Richard I and John.
- Berengaria of Navarre 6 April 1199 – 23 December 1230, wife of Richard I of England.
- Isabella of Angoulême 18/19 October 1216 – 31 May 1246, wife of John of England and queen mother to Henry III of England. Remarried to Hugh X of Lusignan 1220.
- Eleanor of Provence 16 November 1272 – 24 June 1291, wife of Henry III of England and queen mother to Edward I of England.
- Marguerite of France 7 July 1307 – 14 February 1317, wife of Edward I of England and stepmother to Edward II of England.
- Isabella of France September 1327 – 22 August 1358, wife of Edward II of England and queen mother to Edward III of England, from her husband's deposition on 20 January 1327.
- Isabella of Valois 14 February 1399 – 13 September 1409, wife of Richard II of England; ceased to be queen consort with Richard's deposition on 30 September 1399. Remarried to Charles I de Valois, Duke of Orléans on 29 June 1406.
- Joanna of Navarre 20 March 1413—9 July 1437, wife of Henry IV of England and stepmother to Henry V of England.
- Catherine of Valois 31 August 1422 – 3 January 1437, wife of Henry V of England and queen mother to Henry VI of England. Remarried to Owen Tudor in 1428 or 1429.
- Margaret of Anjou 21 May 1471 – 25 August 1482, wife of Henry VI of England.
- Elizabeth Woodville 9 April 1483 – 8 June 1492, wife of Edward IV of England and queen mother to Edward V of England until the latter's deposition in 1483.
Of England and Ireland
Of Scotland
- Margaret of Wessex 13 November 1093 – 6 November 1093, wife of Malcolm III of Scotland.
- Ermengarde de Beaumont 4 December 1214 – 12 February 1233/34, wife of William I of Scotland and queen mother to Alexander II of Scotland.
- Marie de Coucy 6 July 1249 – 1285, wife of Alexander II of Scotland and queen mother to Alexander III of Scotland. Remarried to Jean de Brienne in 1257.
- Yolande of Dreux 19 March 1286 – 2 August 1322, wife of Alexander III of Scotland. Remarried to Arthur II, Duke of Brittany in 1292.
- Joan Beaufort 21 February 1437 – 15 July 1445, wife of James I of Scotland and queen mother to James II of Scotland. Remarried to James Stewart in 1439.
- Mary of Guelders 3 August 1460 – 1 December 1463, wife of James II of Scotland and queen mother to James III of Scotland.
- Margaret Tudor 9 September 1513 – 8 October 1541, wife of James IV of Scotland and queen mother to James V of Scotland. Remarried to Archibald Douglas, 6th Earl of Angus in 1514 and Henry Stewart, 1st Lord Methven in 1528.
- Mary of Guise 14 December 1542 – 11 June 1560, wife of James V of Scotland and queen mother to Mary, Queen of Scots.
Of England, Ireland and Scotland
Of the United Kingdom:
If the current queen consort, Queen Camilla, outlives the incumbent king, King Charles III, she will become a queen dowager, while King Charles’s son and daughter in law become the new king and queen consort respectively. She would not be known as a queen mother, as she is not the biological parent of Prince William.
Other
Note that in some of the countries mentioned below it is unusual to indicate a former queen-consort as a dowager.
East Asia
China
Japan
Korea
Europe
Bavaria
Castile
Croatia
Denmark
- Jutta of Saxony (1250–1267), widow of King Eric IV of Denmark. Remarried to Burchard VIII, Count of Querfurt-Rosenburg.
- Matilda of Holstein (1252–1288), widow of Abel, King of Denmark. Remarried to Birger Jarl in 1261.
- Margaret Sambiria (1259–1282), widow of King Christopher I of Denmark.
- Agnes of Brandenburg (1286–1304), widow of King Eric V of Denmark. Remarried to Gerhard II, Count of Holstein-Plön in 1293.
- Dorothea of Brandenburg (1448–1449, 1481–1495), widow of King Christopher III and later King Christian I of Denmark.
- Christina of Saxony (1513–1521), widow of John, King of Denmark.
- Sophie of Pomerania (1533–1568), second wife and widow of King Frederick I of Denmark.
- Dorothea of Saxe-Lauenburg (1559–1571), widow of King Christian III of Denmark.
- Sophie of Mecklenburg-Güstrow (1588–1631), widow of King Frederick II of Denmark.
- Sophie Amalie of Brunswick-Calenberg (1670–1685), widow of King Frederick III of Denmark.
- Charlotte Amalie of Hesse-Kassel (1699–1714), widow of King Christian V of Denmark.
- Anne Sophie Reventlow (1730–1743), second wife and widow of King Frederick IV of Denmark.
- Sophie Magdalene of Brandenburg-Kulmbach (1746–1770), widow of King Christian VI of Denmark.
- Juliana Maria of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel (1766–1796), second wife and widow of King Frederick V of Denmark.
- Marie of Hesse-Kassel (1839–1852), widow of King Frederick VI of Denmark.
- Caroline Amalie of Augustenburg (1848–1881), second wife and widow of King Christian VIII of Denmark.
- Louise of Sweden (1912–1926), widow of King Frederick VIII of Denmark.
- Alexandrine of Mecklenburg-Schwerin (1947–1952), widow of King Christian X of Denmark.
- Ingrid of Sweden (1972–2000), widow of King Frederik IX of Denmark.
Greece
León
Portugal
Prussia
- Sophia Louise of Mecklenburg-Schwerin (25 February 1713 – 29 July 1735), third wife and widow of King Frederick I of Prussia.
- Sophia Dorothea of Hanover (31 May 1740 – 28 June 1757), widow of King Frederick William I of Prussia.
- Elisabeth Christine of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel-Bevern (17 August 1786 – 13 January 1797), widow of King Frederick II of Prussia.
- Frederica Louisa of Hesse-Darmstadt (16 November 1797 – 25 February 1805), second wife and widow of King Frederick William II of Prussia.
- Elisabeth Ludovika of Bavaria (2 January 1861 – 14 December 1873), widow of King Frederick William IV of Prussia.
- Augusta of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach (9 March 1888 – 7 January 1890), widow of William I, German Emperor and King of Prussia.
- Victoria, Princess Royal (15 June 1888 – 5 August 1901), widow of Frederick III, German Emperor and King of Prussia.
Romania
Saxony
Spain
Sweden
In Sweden, there has also been another title for a dowager queen, called Riksänkedrottning, which means Queen Dowager of the Realm. This title was used in the 16th and 17th centuries. The last time the title queen dowager was used was in 1913.
- Catherine Stenbock, (1537–1610), third wife and widow of King Gustav I of Sweden.
- Gunilla Bielke, (1568–1597), second wife and widow of King John III of Sweden.
- Christina of Holstein-Gottorp, (1573–1625), second wife and widow of King Charles IX of Sweden.
- Maria Eleonora of Brandenburg, (1599–1655), widow of King Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden.
- Hedwig Eleonora of Holstein-Gottorp, (1636–1715), widow of King Charles X Gustav of Sweden.
- Louisa Ulrika of Prussia, (1720–1781), widow of King Adolph Frederick of Sweden.
- Sophia Magdalena of Denmark, (1746–1815), widow of King Gustav III of Sweden.
- Hedvig Elisabeth Charlotte of Holstein-Gottorp, (1759–1818), widow of King Charles XIII of Sweden.
- Désirée Clary, (1777–1860), widow of King Charles XIV John of Sweden.
- Josephine of Leuchtenberg, (1807–1876), widow of King Oscar I of Sweden.
- Sophia of Nassau, (1836–1913), widow of King Oscar II of Sweden.
Two Sicilies
Württemberg
Pacific
Hawaii
South America
Brazil
Southeast Asia
Malaysia
Myanmar
- Yun San, chief queen consort of King Alaungpaya and mother to three successive kings, Naungdawgyi, Hsinbyushin and Bodawpaya
- Shin Phyo Oo, chief queen consort of King Naungdawgyi, mother to Phaungka
- Me Myat Shwe, Princess of Taungoo, chief queen consort of King Tharawaddy, mother of King Pagan and Queen Consort Setkya Dewi
- Kyaut Maw Mibaya, Shin Min Yin, queen of the southern department of King Tharawaddy and mother of King Mindon
- Laungshe Mibaya, Nanzwe queen consort of King Mindon and mother of King Thibaw
Thailand
- Amarindra, (7 September 1809 – 25 May 1826), wife and widow of King Rama I of Siam and mother of King Rama II of Siam.
- Sri Suriyendra, (21 July 1824 - 18 October 1836), wife and widow of King Rama II of Siam and mother of King Mongkut and King Pinklao.
- Saovabha Phongsri, (23 October 1910 – 20 October 1919), wife and widow of King Chulalongkorn of Siam and mother of King Vajiravudh and King Prajadhipok.
- Savang Vadhana, (23 October 1910 – 17 December 1955), wife and widow of King Chulalongkorn of Siam and grandmother of King Ananda Mahidol and King Bhumibol Adulyadej.
- Sukhumala Marasri, (23 October 1910 – 9 July 1927), wife and widow of King Chulalongkorn of Siam.
- Rambai Barni, (30 May 1941 – 22 May 1984), wife and widow of King Prajadhipok of Siam.
- Sirikit, (since 13 October 2016), wife and widow of King Bhumibol Adulyadej of Thailand and mother of King Vajiralongkorn.
West Asia
Jordan
Fiction
In the novel series The Princess Diaries, the character Princess Clarisse Marie Grimaldi Renaldo is the princess dowager of the principality of Genovia. In the films, where Genovia is portrayed as a kingdom, Clarisse is portrayed as a dowager queen.
In the fantasy novel series A Song of Ice and Fire, and later the HBO series Game of Thrones, the character Cersei Lannister became the queen mother to King Joffrey Baratheon after her husband Robert Baratheon was killed in a hunting accident, although she managed to strong-arm the position of regent as well, and was thus known as the "queen regent". In the episode "High Sparrow", the new queen consort, Margaery Tyrell, mocks Cersei's loss of power by asking her to clarify whether she should be addressed as queen mother or dowager queen.
In the 2015 Indian movie Baahubali-The Beginning and its sequel Baahubali-the Conclusion, actress Ramya Krishnan portrays the character "Rajamatha Shivagami Devi". In most Indian languages, the word 'rajamata' means 'Queen-Mother'.
In the video game Long Live the Queen, after the queen regnant of the kingdom of Nova is assassinated, her widower is referred to as the king-dowager.
In the 2023 Netflix series , actress Michelle Fairley portrays Augusta, Dowager Princess of Wales, King George's mother.
Notes and References
- Web site: September 26, 2018. Belgium's queen mother flies home for health tests. AP.
- Catherine Parr continued to use the title Queen Dowager even after her remarriage to Thomas Seymour, 1st Baron Seymour of Sudeley, the younger brother of the late Jane Seymour, Henry VIII's third wife.
- Linda Porter. Katherine, the queen, Macmillan 2011.