Queen Dowager - British Queens Dowager

British Queens Dowager

See also: British queens dowager, English queens dowager, and Scottish queens dowager

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 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 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 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 and death in 1483.

Of England and Ireland

• • Anne of Cleves survived her marriage to Henry VIII until her death 16 July 1557, but since her marriage had been annulled 9 July 1540, she was not considered a queen dowager.
• Catherine Parr 28 January 1547—5 September 1548, sixth and last wife of Henry VIII of England and stepmother to his children King Edward VI, Lady Mary and Lady Elizabeth. Remarried to Thomas Seymour, 1st Baron Seymour of Sudeley most likely in mid-spring of 1547.

Of England, Scotland and Ireland

• Henrietta Maria of France 30 January 1649—10 September 1669, wife of Charles I of England, Scotland and Ireland and queen mother to Charles II of England, Scotland and Ireland.
• Catherine of Braganza 6 February 1685 - 30 November 1705, wife of Charles II of England, Scotland and Ireland.
• Mary of Modena 16 September 1701—7 May 1718, wife of James II of England & Ireland and James VII of Scotland; ceased to be queen consort with his deposition on 12 February 1689.

Of the United Kingdom:

• Adelaide of Saxe-Meiningen 20 June 1837—2 December 1849, wife of William IV of the United Kingdom.
• Alexandra of Denmark 6 May 1910—20 November 1925, wife of Edward VII of the United Kingdom, queen mother to George V of the United Kingdom.

Of the Commonwealth realms:

• Mary of Teck 20 January 1936—24 March 1953, wife of George V of the United Kingdom, queen mother to Edward VIII and George VI of the United Kingdom until the latter's death 6 February 1952.
• Lady Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon 6 February 1952—30 March 2002, wife of George VI of the United Kingdom and queen mother to Queen Elizabeth II.