British Queens Dowager - Definition

Definition

Further information: queen mother

A queen mother is a person satisfying the following criteria:

  • She is the mother of the current monarch.
  • She is a queen dowager
  • She must have been queen consort, but not having ceased to be so due to a divorce or annulment.

A further condition is that the term "queen mother" applies only if a male monarch is married. If he is unmarried, his mother retains her title of queen. (This is analogous to the mother of a peer, who is called a dowager if the peer is married but not otherwise.)

Contrary to myth, queen mother does not necessarily mean mother of the Queen; it applies whether or not the monarch is male or female.

A queen mother retains the style of Her Majesty that she enjoyed as queen, but there is no further coronation ceremony to reflect her changed status.

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