A Queen dowager, Dowager Queen or Queen mother (compare: Princess dowager, Dowager Princess, or Princess mother) is a title or status generally held by the widow of a deceased king. In the case of the widow of a deceased 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 widow who holds the title from her deceased husband. (A queen who rules in her own right and not due to marriage to a king is a queen regnant.) Currently there are three Queens Dowager, Fabiola of Belgium, Noor of Jordan and Halaevalu Mataʻaho ʻAhomeʻe of Tonga. Ratna of Nepal was Queen Dowager and Queen Mother until the abolition of the Nepalese Monarchy in 2008.
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Famous quotes containing the word queen:
“I would rather be a beggar and single than a queen and married.”
—Elizabeth I (1533–1603)