Women of The Imperial Dynasty
Originally, the title Augusta was only exceptionally bestowed on women of the Imperial dynasties: for these women it meant a fortification of their worldly power, and a status near to divinity. There was no qualification with higher prestige.
The first woman to receive it was Livia Drusilla, by the last will of her husband Augustus (14 AD). Hence she was known as Julia Augusta from his death in AD 14 until her own death in AD 29. As much as Augustus was the model for all further Augusti, Livia was the model for all further Augustae (plural of Augusta) -- a model that included scheming for a son to become successor to the throne, and falling in disgrace under the new emperor if the scheming had been successful.
Agrippina the Younger, becoming "Augusta" under her last husband and uncle Claudius, would adhere to this model, being sent to death by her son Nero a few years after he had become emperor.
If the honorific Augustus could be compared to the title of Prince in more modern societies, then Augusta would be analogous to the British title of the Princess Royal, a title bestowed by the reigning monarch in rare cases to a relative that received by this title prominence among other members of the royal household. Of course, this is only a partial comparison: Princess Royal was a title most often received by younger women, while Augusta was rather reserved for the aged. In this sense, Augusta also has something of the connotation of Queen Mother. Further, the "akin to divinity" does not really translate in any of these more modern titles or understood honorifics.
Read more about this topic: Augustus (honorific)
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