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A Queen Dowager or Dowager Queen is a title or status generally held by the widow of a reigning king. Its full meaning is clear from the two words from which it is composed: queen indicates someone who served as queen consort (i.e. wife of a king), while dowager indicates a widow who holds the title from her deceased husband. A Queen Mother is a particular type of queen dowager who is simultaneously a former queen consort and the mother of the current monarch.1 Therefore, every queen mother is by definition also a queen dowager. However, not all queen dowagers are queen mothers (i.e., the mothers of the reigning monarch). For example, a queen dowager may be the widow of the older brother of the reigning monarch. One example of this is Dowager Queen Fabiola of the Belgians, whose late husband King Baudouin died in 1993 and was succeeded by his younger brother Albert.
Not every mother of a reigning monarch is a queen mother or a queen dowager. For example, the mother of Queen Victoria of Great Britain, the Duchess of Kent, was never a queen dowager because her late husband, the Duke of Kent, had never been king. Similarly, the mother of King George III of the United Kingdom, the former Princess Augusta of Saxe-Gotha, was not a queen dowager because her husband, Frederick, Prince of Wales, was never king. Instead, she held the title of Dowager Princess of Wales.
Finally, it is entirely possible for there to be a queen mother and one or more queen dowagers alive at any one time. This situation occurred in the United Kingdom in the period between the ascension of Queen Elizabeth II on 6 February 1952Summary of notable events in 1952 . Events January events January 8 West Germany has 8 million refugees inside its borders. January 24 Sudden heavy snowfall in Algeria. January 24 Vincent Massey sworn in as first Canada-born Governor-General of Canada. and the death of her paternal grandmother on 24 March 19531953 is a common year starting on Thursday (click on link for the calendar). Events January events January 7 President Harry S. Truman announces the United States has developed a hydrogen bomb. January 13 Marshal Josip Broz Tito chosen President of Yugosl. For slightly over a year, there were three queens in Great Britain:
- Queen Elizabeth II, the reigning monarch.
- Queen Elizabeth the Queen MotherHer Majesty Queen Elizabeth (nee The Honourable Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon ( 4 August 1900 30 March 2002) was the Queen consort of George VI of the United Kingdom. She is the mother of Queen Elizabeth II, the current British monarch. After her husband's death s, the widow of the recently deceased King George VIKing of the United Kingdom ( 1936- 52), King of Ireland ( 1936- 1949), Emperor of India ( 1936- 1947) George VI (Albert Frederick Arthur George) ( December 14, 1895 February 6, 1952) was the third British monarch of the House of Windsor, reigning from ( D and the mother of the reigning queen. Queen Elizabeth, the former queen consort, specifically adopted the appelation "Queen Mother" to distinguish herself from her daughter, Queen Elizabeth II.
- Queen MaryQueen Mary Victoria Mary of Teck ( 26 May, 1867 24 March, 1953) was the Queen consort of George V of the United Kingdom. Queen Mary was also the Empress of India and Queen of Ireland. Prior to her accession, she was also Princess of Wales, Duchess of Corn, the widow of King George VGeorge V (George Frederick Ernest Albert) ( 3 June 1865- 20 January 1936) was the last British monarch of the House of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, changing the name to the House of Windsor in 1917. As well as being King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and I, the mother of the former king Edward VIII (then-the Duke of Windsor) and of the late King George VI. Queen Mary had been the queen mother between the death of her husband in 1936 and the ascension of her granddaughter in 1952. However, she continued to be titled and styled "Her Majesty Queen Mary."
A queen dowager continues to enjoy the title, style, and precedence of a queen consort. However, many former queen consorts do not formally use the word "dowager" as part of their titles.
