British queen mothers

Queen Elizabeth was styled "Queen Mother" during her widowhood.

Queen mother is defined as "a queen dowager who is the mother of the reigning sovereign".^[1]^[2]

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.

Queen mother does not mean mother of the Queen; it applies whether the current monarch is queen or king.

As a queen, a queen mother retains the style of Her Majesty.

Following is a list of women who, on the above definition, were entitled to be known as queen mother at some point in their lives.

1910–1925 Alexandra of Denmark (though she preferred not to use the title). Mother of George V.
1936–1952 Mary of Teck (who also preferred not to use the title). Mother of Edward VIII and George VI.
1952–2002 Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon, mother of Elizabeth II; her fifty years is by far the longest ever that anyone has held the status of queen mother.

↑ "queen mother, n.". Oxford English Dictionary (3rd ed.). Oxford University Press. September 2005. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.): "The widow of a king who is also the mother of the reigning monarch. "
↑ Webster's Third New International Dictionary.

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