A queen regnant (plural: queens regnant) is a female monarch who reigns in her own right, in contrast to a queen consort, who is the wife of a reigning king. An empress regnant is a female monarch who reigns in her own right over an empire.
A queen regnant possesses and exercises sovereign powers. The husband of a queen regnant does not usually share his wife's rank, title or sovereignty. A queen consort shares her husband's rank and titles, but does not share the sovereignty of her husband.
A queen dowager is the widow of a king who reigned in his own right. A queen mother is a queen dowager who is also the mother of a reigning sovereign.
Read more about Queen Regnant: History, Current Queens Regnant
Famous quotes containing the word queen:
““Speak when you’re spoken to!” the Queen sharply interrupted her.
“But if everybody obeyed that rule,” said Alice, who was always ready for a little argument, “and if you only spoke when you were spoken to, and the other person always waited for you to begin, you see nobody would ever say anything, so that—””
—Lewis Carroll [Charles Lutwidge Dodgson] (1832–1898)