Recent British Queen Mothers
The following queens became queen mothers, though not all chose to use that style.
- Queen Alexandra (1844–1925) — widow of Edward VII and mother of George V.
- Queen Mary (1867–1953) — widow of George V and mother of kings Edward VIII and George VI. Queen Mary never used the title Queen Mother, because she thought it implied advancing years, choosing instead to be known as "Queen Mary" and that style was used to describe her in the Court Circular. But she was a queen mother just the same. When her granddaughter acceded to the throne as Elizabeth II in 1952, the new queen's mother became queen mother, and Queen Mary became known as Queen Mary, the Queen Dowager.
- Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother (1900–2002) — the widow of George VI and mother of Elizabeth II. In some of the British media, Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother was often referred to as the Queen Mum, and the term "Queen Mother" remains associated with her after her death.
Read more about this topic: Queen Mother
Famous quotes containing the words british, queen and/or mothers:
“We may be scum, but at least we’re la crème de la scum.”
—Report on the British royal family. quoted in Sunday Times (London, Nov. 13, 1988)
“Most Gracious Queen, we thee implore
To go away and sin no more,
But if that effort be too great,
To go away at any rate.”
—Anonymous. “On Queen Caroline,” in Diary and Correspondence of Lord Colchester (1861)
“Mothers seem to be in subtle competition with teachers. There is always an underlying fear that teachers will do a better job than they have done with their child.... But mostly mothers feel that their areas of competence are very much similar to those of the teacher. In fact they feel they know their child better than anyone else and that the teacher doesn’t possess any special field of authority or expertise.”
—Sara Lawrence Lightfoot (20th century)