Talk:Queen dowager

Unsigned and undated comment re: prorposed redirects of Dowager Princess and Princess Dowager
I think Dowager Princess, and Princess Dowager, should redirect here; that is the proper term for principalities. If Grace Kelly had died before Ranier III], Grace would have been the Dowager Princess, Princess Dowager, or even Princess Mother (though this seems unlikley).

If the Queen Mother had officially married again would she still be entitled to enjoy the title, style and precendece of a Queen Mother or a Queen Dowager? I'm assuming the answer is yes as a Queen Mother is Queen Mother purely based on the fact that she once reigned as Queen Consort and is the mother of the sovereign but what about in the caseof a Queen Dowager? Had Queen Adeleide remarried i.e. the Duke of Nowhere-Nothing would she have become HM Queen Adeleide, the Duchess of Nowhere-Nothing or would she have become HM The Duchess of Nowhere-Nothing or alternatively Her Grace The Duchess Nowhere-Nothing and in that case do Queen's take the rank of their husbands on their succession and if so why are they referred to as Queen (Christian name) rather than Queen (husbands name) just as Baroness Marie-Christine von Reibnitz is referred to as Princess Michael of Kent (taking her the female form of her husbands name?

Grace Kelly DID die before her husband and how would she be known as dowager princess if she was dead? The widow of Rainier's predecessor,Louis II, was known as Dowager Princesse de Monaco until her death in 1990. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 86.40.226.206 (talk) 19:09, 6 October 2013 (UTC)

Belgium
Why is Fabiola a queen dowager and Paola is not ? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 86.40.226.206 (talk) 19:11, 6 October 2013 (UTC)

Pronunciation?
Could someone please tell how the word "Dowager" should be pronounced? --Jqar 23:42, 14 May 2007 (UTC)

According to Merriam-Webster, ˈdau̇-i-jər --66.245.150.88 10:36, 31 October 2007 (UTC)

Plural?
Queen Dowagers looks wrong. Should it not be Queens Dowager, similar to courts martial? The argument would be that they are queens first and dowager is a modifier so the plural should go with queen. Dowager Queens is used as well, so there is precedent to put the plural on queen. I looked for a definitive reference and found none, so it may be too obscure a point to worry about. --66.245.150.88 10:36, 31 October 2007 (UTC)

Plural
Forming the plural on "queen" is the typical historical usage and would lead to such forms as "queens dowager," "queens mother," or "queens regnant." Affected as it sounds, this usage does avoid the problem of forming the plural on the modifier.

Exist anymore?
Have the title become abolshed? are there any queen dowagers in Europe at present? Are there anyone ot the present queen consorts who will recieve this title? It seems, that the title is now out of fashion in Europe? --85.226.43.6 (talk) 11:42, 11 November 2008 (UTC)

It has definitely not been abolished, but it's the kind of title that is rarely used colloquially (Queen Mary was generally referred to as just that, even though her official title would be Queen Dowager). Also the most famous Queen Dowager of the 20th Century became universally known as the Queen Mother, which has lead to a decline in the term's use. Smurfmeister (talk) 15:39, 14 January 2009 (UTC)


 * But in Europe as a whole, not only in Britain? --85.226.44.238 (talk) 21:54, 18 December 2009 (UTC)

Updated
Added Korea.--125.7.9.37 (talk) 01:11, 25 May 2009 (UTC)

Dates inconsistency
It seems inconsistent to list the dates between which British queens dowager bore the title, whereas for queens dowager of other countries, dates of birth and death are given. 79.181.198.168 (talk) 06:24, 17 February 2012 (UTC)

Catherine Parr
Catherine Parr's marriage date to Lord Seymour is not recorded; there is no official date so where is that statement coming from? And according to Henry's will she was free to re-marry whom she pleased and still be treated as if he were still alive, meaning she would continue to be treated as his consort. She had every right to keep the title of Queen Dowager like Henry's sister, Mary, the Dowager Queen of France did. Until the new King married Catherine was still the only queen living in England. -- Lady Meg (talk) 22:00, 31 August 2012 (UTC)

Theoretical Elizabeth II abdication
If Elizabeth II were to abdicate, what would her title be? According to this, a Queen Dowager is a former Queen Consort. Elizabeth II is a Queen Regnant, in her own right. Queen Mother is given as a special case of Queen Dowager, and so would also not apply. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 86.170.171.12 (talk) 19:12, 23 July 2013 (UTC) She would become the Princess Elizabeth, Duchess of Edinburgh (or if the Duke has died) the Dowager Duchess of Edinburgh. 74.69.9.224 (talk) 02:50, 21 December 2013 (UTC)

Clarity quibble
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 woman who holds the title from her deceased husband (a queen who rules in her own right instead of due to marriage to a king is a queen regnant).

Should read:

Its full meaning is unclear from the two words from which it is composed until you realize that a queen who rules in her own right instead of due to marriage to a king is termed a queen regnant; 'queen' thus indicates someone who served as queen consort (i.e. wife of a king regnant), while 'dowager' indicates a woman who holds the title from her deceased husband.

&mdash; MaxEnt 19:23, 16 April 2022 (UTC)