A queen mother is a former queen, often a

queen dowager A queen dowager or dowager queen (compare: princess dowager or dowager princess) is a title or status generally held by the widow of a king. In the case of the widow of an emperor, the title of empress dowager is used. Its full meaning is clear ...

, who is the mother of the reigning monarch. The term has been used in English since the early 1560s. It arises in hereditary monarchies in Europe and is also used to describe a number of similar yet distinct monarchical concepts in non-European cultures around the world. " Queen Mother" usually, in English, refers to

Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother Elizabeth Angela Marguerite Bowes-Lyon (4 August 1900 – 30 March 2002) was Queen of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth from 11 December 1936 to 6 February 1952 as the wife of King George VI. She was the l ...

(queen consort, 1936–1952; queen mother, 1952–2002), who was the mother of

Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. She was queen ...

and one of the few people to use the term as an official style. However, it is also used as an official title in Thailand where Sirikit, the mother of the present king, is officially styled "The Queen Mother".

Status

A queen mother is often a

, a widow of a king, who is simultaneously a former queen consort and the mother of the current monarch. As there is only one monarch, there can only be one queen mother. It is unclear if a queen consort whose husband abdicates the throne, or a queen regnant who abdicates, and is the mother of the current monarch would be the queen mother. In many countries, such as the United Kingdom, a monarch loses the title of king or queen after abdication. For example,

Juliana of the Netherlands Juliana (; Juliana Louise Emma Marie Wilhelmina; 30 April 1909 – 20 March 2004) was Queen of the Netherlands from 1948 until her abdication in 1980. Juliana was the only child of Queen Wilhelmina and Prince Henry of Mecklenburg-Schwerin. Sh ...

, who abdicated and was succeeded by her daughter Beatrix, was sometimes colloquially referred to as the queen mother despite declining the title and having reverted to being a princess.

Queen Paola of Belgium Paola (born Donna Paola Ruffo di Calabria;AlthougThe Belgian Monarchy websiteattributes the title of "Princess" to Queen Paola prior to marriage, Burke's Peerage 1973, The Descendants of Louis XIII 1999, ''Genealogisches Handbuch des Adels'' 200 ...

, whose husband Albert II abdicated but retained the title of king, has generally been referred to as the queen mother of Philippe despite not being a queen dowager. A former queen consort who is the grandmother of the reigning monarch is sometimes called the queen grandmother.

Savang Vadhana Sri Savarindira ( th, ศรีสวรินทิรา; , 10 September 1862 – 17 December 1955), also known as Savang Vadhana ( th, สว่างวัฒนา; ), was a consort and half-sister of Chulalongkorn (Rama V), but she was no ...

of Thailand was known by this style.

United Kingdom

The title "queen mother" evolved to distinguish a queen dowager from all other queens when she is also the mother of the reigning sovereign. Thus, upon the death of her husband, King George V, Queen Mary became queen mother, retaining the status throughout the reigns of her sons,

Edward VIII Edward VIII (Edward Albert Christian George Andrew Patrick David; 23 June 1894 – 28 May 1972), later known as the Duke of Windsor, was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Empire and Emperor of India from 20 January 19 ...

and George VI. The title also distinguishes former queens consort from those who are simply the mother of the current monarch. For example, Princess Victoria of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld was "the queen's mother" when her daughter Victoria became queen regnant, but she was ''not'' "queen mother" as her husband was never a king. The title in British usage is purely a

courtesy title A courtesy title is a title that does not have legal significance but rather is used through custom or courtesy, particularly, in the context of nobility, the titles used by children of members of the nobility (cf. substantive title). In some co ...

. While the wife of a king is called "queen", there is no constitutional or statutory recognition of "queen mother" as a title. There is no male equivalent to a queen mother (i.e. "king father"). This would occur only if the husband of a queen regnant outlived the queen and was thereafter father to the new king or queen. Such a situation has never occurred. Since the title "queen mother" derives from the woman's previous title of "queen", it would also be incongruous to call such a father of a monarch the "king father", as the husbands of queens regnant are not given the title "king", but rather titled as a prince. The exact title such a person would assume has not been clarified by royal lineage experts. "Prince father" is a possibility.

Ottoman Empire

In the Ottoman Empire, '' valide sultan'' ( ota, والده سلطان) or sultana mother was the title held by the mother of a ruling

Sultan Sultan (; ar, سلطان ', ) is a position with several historical meanings. Originally, it was an Arabic abstract noun meaning "strength", "authority", "rulership", derived from the verbal noun ', meaning "authority" or "power". Later, it ...

. The title was first used in the 16th century for

Hafsa Sultan Hafsa Sultan ( ota, حفصه سلطان, "''Young lioness''"; or before – 19 March 1534), also called Ayşe Hafsa Sultan, was a concubine of Selim I and the first Valide Sultan of the Ottoman Empire as the mother of Suleiman the Magnificent. Dur ...

, consort of Selim I and mother of Suleiman the Magnificent, superseding the previous title of ''mehd-i ülya'' ("cradle of the great"). The

Turkish Turkish may refer to: *a Turkic language spoken by the Turks * of or about Turkey ** Turkish language *** Turkish alphabet ** Turkish people, a Turkic ethnic group and nation *** Turkish citizen, a citizen of Turkey *** Turkish communities and mi ...

pronunciation of the word ''Valide'' is . The second position the most important position in the Ottoman Empire after the sultan himself and being at the same level of power and hierarchy as Haseki sultan. As the mother to the sultan, by

Islam Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic Monotheism#Islam, monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God in Islam, God (or ...

ic tradition ("A mother's right is God's right"), the valide sultan would have a significant influence on the affairs of the empire. She had great power in the court and her own rooms (always adjacent to her son's) and state staff. In particular during the 17th century, in a period known as the "

Sultanate of Women The Sultanate of Women ( Turkish: ''Kadınlar saltanatı'') was a period when wives and mothers of the Sultans of the Ottoman Empire exerted extraordinary political influence. This phenomenon took place from roughly 1528-30 to 1715, beginning in ...

", a series of incompetent or child sultans raised the role of the valide sultan to new heights.

Ancient Israel

The Israelites had in the Kingdom of Judah a title called " Gebirah" which can be translated to Queen Mother. The mother of the Jewish Monarch was given high rank and status among the Israelites.

India

In India, a queen (usually styled

rani ''Rani'' in Indian Subcontinent and Southeast Asia, sometimes spelled ''Ranee'', is a Hindu/Sanskrit feminine given name. The term is the female form of the term for princely rulers in South and Southeast Asia and applies equally to the wife of a ...

, or in the Muslim tradition, begum) who becomes queen-mother is known in Sanskrit and Hindi as a ''rajamata'' - literally, mother of the king/monarch.

Africa

Eswatini Eswatini ( ; ss, eSwatini ), officially the Kingdom of Eswatini and formerly named Swaziland ( ; officially renamed in 2018), is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. It is bordered by Mozambique to its northeast and South Africa to its no ...

, the queen mother, or Ndlovukati, reigns alongside her son. She serves as a ceremonial figurehead, while her son serves as the administrative head of state. He has absolute power. She is important at festivals such as the annual

reed dance Umhlanga , or Reed Dance ceremony, is an annual Swazi event. In Eswatini, tens of thousands of unmarried and childless Swazi girls and women travel from the various chiefdoms to the Ludzidzini Royal Village to participate in the eight-day event ...

ceremony. In many matrilineal societies of West Africa, such as the Ashanti, the queen mother is the one through whom royal descent is reckoned and thus wields considerable power. One of the greatest leaders of Ashanti was Nana Yaa Asantewaa (1840–1921), who led her subjects against the British Empire during the War of the Golden Stool in 1900. In more symbolically driven societies such as the kingdoms of the Yoruba peoples, the ''queen mother'' may not even be a blood relative of the reigning monarch. She could be a female individual of any age who is vested with the ritual essence of the departed queens in a ceremonial sense, and who is practically regarded as the monarch's mother as a result. A good example of this is Oloye Erelu Kuti I of Lagos, who has been seen as the ''iya oba'' or queen mother of every succeeding king of that realm, due to the activities of the three successors to her noble title that have reigned since her demise.

Notable examples

These mothers of monarchs, and others, albeit not always officially so titled have also been considered equal to queen mothers: * Adela of Champagne (1180–1206) France * Adelaide of Aquitaine (996–1004) France * Adelaide of Maurienne (1137–1154) France * Adelaide of Paris (898–901) West Francia * Agnes of Aquitaine (1137–1159) Aragon * Agnes of Brandenburg (1286–1304) Denmark * Alexandra of Denmark (1910–1925) United Kingdom * Aliya bint Ali (1939–1950) Iraq * Amarindra (1810–1826) Siam * Amélie of Orléans (1908–1910) Portugal * Alexandrine of Mecklenburg-Schwerin (1947–1952) Denmark *

Anastasia of Kiev Anastasia of Kiev (russian: Анастасия Ярославна; uk, Анастасія Ярославна; 1023 – 1074/1094) was Queen of Hungary by marriage to King Andrew the White. Life Anastasia was a daughter of Grand Prince Yarosl ...

(1063–1074) Hungary * Anna Pavlovna of Russia (1849–1865) Netherlands * Anne of Austria (1643–1666) France *

Anne of Kiev Anne of Kiev or Anna Yaroslavna, Russian: Анна Ярославна (c. 1030 – 1075) was a Rus' princess who became Queen of France in 1051 upon marrying King Henry I. She ruled the kingdom as regent during the minority of their son Philip ...

(1060–1075) France *

Athaliah Athaliah ( el, Γοθολία ''Gotholía''; la, Athalia) was the daughter of either king Omri, or of King Ahab and Queen Jezebel of Israel, the queen consort of Judah as the wife of King Jehoram, a descendant of King David, and later quee ...

(c. 842 – 841 BCE) Judah * Augusta of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach (1888) Prussia *

Bathsheba Bathsheba ( or ; he, בַּת־שֶׁבַע, ''Baṯ-šeḇaʿ'', Bat-Sheva or Batsheva, "daughter of Sheba" or "daughter of the oath") was the wife of Uriah the Hittite and later of David, according to the Hebrew Bible. She was the mother of ...

(11th century BC) Israel and Judah * Beatrice of Castile (1279–1303) Portugal * Beatrice of Castile (1357–1359) Portugal * Berengaria of Castile (1217–1246) Castile * Blanche of Castile (1226–1252) France *

Blanche of Namur Blanche of Namur (Swedish and Norwegian: ''Blanka''; 1320–1363) was Queen of Norway and Sweden as the wife of King Magnus VII / IV. Background Blanche was the eldest daughter of John I, Marquis of Namur and Marie of Artois. On her father's s ...

(1343–1362) Norway *

Bona Sforza Bona Sforza d'Aragona (2 February 1494 – 19 November 1557) was Queen of Poland and Grand Duchess of Lithuania as the second wife of Sigismund I the Old, and Duchess of Bari and Rossano by her own right. She was a surviving member of ...

(1548–1557) Poland and Lithuania * Carlota Joaquina of Spain (1825–1830) *

Catherine de' Medici Catherine de' Medici ( it, Caterina de' Medici, ; french: Catherine de Médicis, ; 13 April 1519 – 5 January 1589) was an Florentine noblewoman born into the Medici family. She was Queen of France from 1547 to 1559 by marriage to King ...

(1559–1589) France * Catherine of Lancaster (1406–1418) Castile * Catherine of Valois (1401–1437) England * Charlotte of Savoy (1483) France * Charlotte Amalie of Hesse-Kassel (1699–1714) Denmark and Norway *

Christina Hvide Christina Hvide (in Swedish: ''Kristina Stigsdotter'') (c. 1145 – c. 1200) was Queen of Sweden as the wife of King Charles VII and the mother of King Sverker II of Sweden. Life Christina ''Stigsdatter'' was the daughter of the Danish nobl ...

(1195–1200) Sweden *

Christina of Denmark Christina of Denmark ( da, Christine af Danmark; November 1521 – 10 December 1590) was a Danish princess, the younger surviving daughter of King Christian II of Denmark and Norway and Isabella of Austria. By her two marriages, she became Du ...

(1167–1170) Sweden * Christina of Holstein-Gottorp (1611–1625) Sweden *

Christina of Saxony Christina of Saxony (born Torgau, 25 December 1461 – died Odense, 8 December 1521), was Queen of Denmark, Norway and Sweden as the wife of King John. Life Early life Christina was engaged to John, King of Denmark, Norway and Sweden, ...

(1513–1521) Denmark and Norway * Clementia of Hungary (1316) France * Constance of Aragon (1204–1205) Hungary * Constance of Arles (1031–1032) France * Constance of Hungary (1230–1240) Bohemia * Constance of Portugal (1312–1313) Castile and León *

Constance of Sicily Constance I ( it, Costanza; 2 November 1154 – 27 November 1198) was reigning Queen of Sicily from 1194–98, jointly with her spouse from 1194 to 1197, and with her infant son Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor, in 1198, as the heiress of the ...

(1285–1302) Aragon and Sicily * Désirée Clary (1844–1859) Sweden and Norway * Dorothea of Brandenburg (1481–1495) Denmark and Norway * Dorothea of Saxe-Lauenburg (1559–1571) Denmark and Norway * Eadgifu of Kent (939–955) Wessex * Eadgifu of Wessex (936–951) West Francia * Ealhswith (899–902) Wessex * Eleanor of Alburquerque (1416–1435) Aragon * Eleanor of Aquitaine (1189–1204) England * Eleanor of Aragon (1438–1445) Portugal *

Eleanor of England Eleanor of England ( es, Leonor; – 31 October 1214), was Queen of Castile and Toledo as wife of Alfonso VIII of Castile. She was the sixth child and second daughter of Henry II, King of England, and Eleanor of Aquitaine. Early life and fa ...

(1214) Castile * Elizabeth of Poland (1342–1380) Hungary *

Eleanor of Provence Eleanor of Provence (c. 1223 – 24/25 June 1291) was a French noblewoman who became Queen of England as the wife of King Henry III from 1236 until his death in 1272. She served as regent of England during the absence of her spouse in 1253. ...

(1272–1291) England * Eleonore Magdalene of Neuburg (1705–1720) Hungary and Bohemia * Elena of Montenegro (1946) Italy * Ælfthryth (978–1000) England * Elisabeth of Bavaria (1934–1951) Belgium * Elisabeth Farnese (1759–1766) Spain * Elisabeth Christine of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel (1745–1750) Hungary and Bohemia * Elizabeth of Austria (1492–1505) Poland * Elizabeth of Bosnia (1382–1387) Hungary and Croatia *

Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon Elizabeth Angela Marguerite Bowes-Lyon (4 August 1900 – 30 March 2002) was List of British royal consorts, Queen of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth from 11 December 1936 to 6 February 1952 as the wife of Ki ...

(1952–2002) United Kingdom: the widow of King George VI and mother of Queen Elizabeth II. In some of the British media, Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother was often referred to as ''the Queen Mum'', and the term "Queen Mother" remained associated with her after her death. * Elizabeth the Cuman (1272–1290) Hungary * Elizabeth of Luxembourg (1440–1442) Bohemia and Hungary * Elizabeth of Aragon (1325–1336) Portugal *

Elizabeth Woodville Elizabeth Woodville (also spelt Wydville, Wydeville, or Widvile;Although spelling of the family name is usually modernised to "Woodville", it was spelt "Wydeville" in contemporary publications by Caxton, but her tomb at St. George's Chapel, Wind ...

(1483) England * Emma of Italy (986–987) West Francia * Emma of Normandy (1035–1052) Denmark and England *

Emma of Waldeck and Pyrmont Emma of Waldeck and Pyrmont (Adelheid Emma Wilhelmina Theresia; 2 August 1858 – 20 March 1934) was Queen of the Netherlands and Grand Duchess of Luxembourg as the wife of King-Grand Duke William III. An immensely popular member of the Dutch Ro ...

(1890–1934) Netherlands * Ermengarde de Beaumont (1214–1233) Scotland * Estrid of the Obotrites (1022–1035) Sweden *

Euphrosyne of Kiev Euphrosyne of Kiev (also ''Euphrosine of Novgorod'';Jirí Louda and Michael MacLagan, ''Lines of Succession: Heraldry of the Royal Families of Europe'', 2nd edition (London, U.K.: Little, Brown and Company, 1999), table 89. hu, Eufrozina; 1130 ...

(1162–1193) Hungary * Frederica of Hanover (1964–1973) Greece * Frederica Louisa of Hesse-Darmstadt (1797–1805) Prussia * Gayatri Devi (1919–2009) Jaipur (India) * Gayatri Rajapatni (1309–1350) Majapahit (Indonesia) * Gerberga of Saxony (954–984) West Francia * Giovanna of Italy (1943–1946) Bulgaria * Gunnhild, Mother of Kings (961–970) Norway *

(1520–1534) Ottoman Empire * Hamida Banu Begum (1556–1604) Mughal India * Handan Sultan (1574–1605) Ottoman Empire * Halime Sultan (1617–1618; 1622–1623) Ottoman Empire * Halaevalu Mataʻaho ʻAhomeʻe (2006–2017) Tonga David von Krafft-Porträtt av Hedvig Eleonora

David von Krafft-Porträtt av Hedvig Eleonora

* Hedvig Eleonora of Holstein-Gottorp (1660–1697) Sweden *

Hedwig of Holstein Hedwig of HolsteinPhilip Line, ''Kingship and state formation in Sweden, 1130-1290'', BRILL, 2007, 9004155783, p. 390. or Helvig( sv, Helvig, german: Helwig) (1260–1324) was Queen of Sweden as the consort of King Magnus III Barnlock. Her pare ...

(1290–1318) Sweden * Helen of Greece and Denmark (1940–1948) Romania * Helena of Serbia (1141-1146) Hungary * Henrietta Maria of France (1649–1669) England and Scotland * Hortense de Beauharnais (1810) Holland * Huzaima bint Nasser (1933–1935) Iraq * Ingeborg of Denmark (1280-1287) Norway * Ingrid of Sweden (1972–2000) Denmark * Isabeau of Bavaria (1422–1435) France * Isabella II of Spain (1874–1885) Spain * Isabella of Angoulême (1216–1246) England * Isabella of France (1327–1358) England *

Isabella of Portugal Isabella of Portugal (24 October 1503 – 1 May 1539) was the empress consort and queen consort of her cousin Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor, King of Spain, Archduke of Austria, and Duke of Burgundy. She was Queen of Spain and Germany, and La ...

(1474–1496) * Jadwiga of Kalisz (1333–1339) Poland * Joan Beaufort, Queen of Scots (1437–1445) Scotland * Jezebel (c.852–842 BC) Israel * Josephine of Leuchtenberg (1859–1876) Sweden and Norway *

Jijabai Jijabai Bhonsle (or Bhonsale, Bhosale, Bhosle) or Jadhav (12 January 1598 – 17 June 1674), referred to as Rajmata, Rastramata, Jijabai or Jijau, was the mother of Shivaji, founder of the Maratha Empire. She was a daughter of Lakhujirao Ja ...

(1598–1674) Maratha Empire (India) * Juana Manuel (1379–1381) Castile and León * Keōpūolani (1778–1823) Hawaii (United States) * Kesang Choden (1972–2006) Bhutan * Kösem Sultan (1623–1648) Ottoman Empire *

Kunigunda of Halych Kunigunda Rostislavna (1245 – 9 September 1285; Czech: ''Kunhuta Uherská'' or ''Kunhuta Haličská'') was Queen consort of Bohemia and its regent from 1278 until her death. She was a member of the House of Chernigov, and a daughter of Rostisl ...

(1278–1285) Bohemia *

Louisa Ulrika of Prussia Louisa Ulrika of Prussia ( sv, Lovisa Ulrika; german: Luise Ulrike) (24 July 1720 – 16 July 1782) was Queen of Sweden from 1751 to 1771 as the wife of King Adolf Frederick. She was queen mother during the reign of King Gustav III. Backgr ...

(1771–1782) Sweden * Louise of Sweden (1912–1926) Denmark *

Luisa de Guzmán Luisa María Francisca de Guzmán y Sandoval ( pt, Luísa Maria Francisca de Gusmão;. 13 October 1613 – 27 February 1666) was a queen consort of Portugal. She was the spouse of King John IV, the first Braganza ruler, as well as the mother ...

(1656–1666) Portugal * Margaret of Denmark (1380–1387) Norway * Margaret of Durazzo (1386–1412) Naples * Margaret Sambiria (1259–1282) Denmark * Margaret Tudor (1513–1541) Scotland *

Margaret of Provence Margaret of Provence (french: Marguerite; 1221 – 20 December 1295) was Queen of France by marriage to King Louis IX. Early life Margaret was born in the spring of 1221 in Forcalquier. She was the eldest of four daughters of Ramon Berenguer IV ...

(1270–1285) France * Margaret Skulesdatter (1263–1270) Norway * Margherita of Savoy (1900–1926) Italy * Maria of Austria (1576–1603) Hungary and Bohemia * María de Molina (1295–1312) Castile and León * Maria of Portugal (1350–1357) Castile and León *

Maria of Romania Maria of Romania may refer to: * Marie of Romania (1875–1938), queen of Romania from 1914 to 1917 as the wife of King Ferdinand I * Maria of Yugoslavia (1900–1961), queen of Yugoslavia and daughter of King Ferdinand I of Romania * Princess Maria ...

(1934–1961) Yugoslavia * Maria Amalia of Saxony (1759–1760) Naples and Sicily * Maria Anna of Austria (1750–1754) Portugal *

Maria Christina of Austria Maria Christina Henriette Desideria Felicitas Raineria of Austria ( es, María Cristina de Habsburgo-Lorena; 21 July 1858 – 6 February 1929) was the second queen consort of Alfonso XII of Spain. She was queen regent during the vacancy of the ...

(1906–1929) Spain * Maria Christina of the Two Sicilies (1833–1868) Spain * Maria Eleonora of Brandenburg (1632–1654) Sweden * María Isabella of Spain (1830–1848) Two Sicilies * Maria Laskarina (1270) Hungary * Maria Leopoldina of Austria (1826) Portugal *

Maria Luisa of Parma Maria Luisa of Parma (Luisa Maria Teresa Anna; 9 December 1751 – 2 January 1819) was, by marriage to King Charles IV of Spain, Queen of Spain from 1788 to 1808 leading up to the Peninsular War. Her relationship with Manuel Godoy and influence o ...

(1808–1819) Spain * Maria Luisa of Spain (1792) Hungary and Bohemia * Maria Pia of Savoy (1889–1908) *

Maria Theresa Maria Theresa Walburga Amalia Christina (german: Maria Theresia; 13 May 1717 – 29 November 1780) was ruler of the Habsburg dominions from 1740 until her death in 1780, and the only woman to hold the position ''suo jure'' (in her own right). ...

(1765–1780) Germany * Mariam-uz-Zamani (1605–1623) Mughal India * Mariana of Austria (1665–1696) Spain * Mariana Victoria of Spain (1777–1781) Portugal *

Marie de Coucy Marie de Coucy (c. 1218 – 1285) was queen of Scotland by marriage to King Alexander II. She was a member of the royal council during the two last years of the minority of her son, King Alexander III, in 1260–1262. Background Marie was t ...

(1249–1285) Scotland *

Marie de' Medici Marie de' Medici (french: link=no, Marie de Médicis, it, link=no, Maria de' Medici; 26 April 1575 – 3 July 1642) was Queen of France and Navarre as the second wife of King Henry IV of France of the House of Bourbon, and Regent of the Kingdom ...

(1610–1642) France * Marie of Anjou (1461–1463) France * Marie of Prussia (1864–1889) Bavaria * Marie of Edinburgh (1930–1938) Romania * Mary of Guelders (1460–1463) Scotland *

Mary of Guise Mary of Guise (french: Marie de Guise; 22 November 1515 – 11 June 1560), also called Mary of Lorraine, was a French noblewoman of the House of Guise, a cadet branch of the House of Lorraine and one of the most powerful families in France. She ...

(1542–1560) Scotland * Mary of Teck (1936–1952) United Kingdom: widow of King George V and mother of kings

and George VI. Queen Mary never used the title ''Queen Mother'', because she thought it implied advancing years, choosing instead to be known as "Queen Mary" and that style was used to describe her in the

Court Circular The Court Circular (CC) is the official record that lists the engagements carried out by the monarch of the United Kingdom and the other Commonwealth realms; the Royal Family; and appointments to their staff and to the court. It is issued by St Ja ...

. But she was a queen mother just the same. * Mary, Queen of Scots (1567–1587) *

Nana Afia Kobi Serwaa Ampem II Nana Afia Kobi Serwaa Ampem II (1907 – 15 November 2016) was the Queen mother (''Ohemaa'') of the Ashanti Kingdom and mother of the current Asantehene, Otumfuo Nana Osei Tutu II Osei Tutu II (born Nana Barima Kwaku Duah; 6 May 1950) is the ...

(1999–2016) Ashanti people (Ghana) * Musbah bint Nasser (1951–1952) Jordan * Narriman Sadek (1952–1953) Egypt * Nazli Sabri (1936–1950) Egypt *

Norodom Monineath Norodom Monineath Sihanouk ( km, នរោត្ដម មុនីនាថ សីហនុ, ; born Paule Monique Izzi; 18 June 1936) is the queen mother of Cambodia. She was queen consort of Cambodia from 1993 to 2004, as the wife of King No ...

(from 2004) Cambodia * Nurbanu Sultan (1574–1583) Ottoman Empire * Olga Constantinovna of Russia (1913–1922) Greece * Pauline Therese of Württemberg (1864–1873) Württemberg * Phuntsho Choden (1952–1972) Bhutan *

Perestu Kadın ota, پرستو قادین , birth_name = Rahime Hanim , birth_date = 1830 , birth_place = Circassia , death_date = c.1906 , death_place = Maçka Palace, Maçka, Istanbul, Ottoman Empire , burial_place = Mihrişah Sultan Mausoleu ...

(1876-1904) Ottoman Empire * Ratna Rajya Lakshmi Devi Shah (1972–2008) Nepal * Richeza of Denmark (1216–1220) Sweden * Richeza of Poland (1074–1077) Hungary *

Safiye Sultan Safiye Sultan ( ota, صفیه سلطان; "''pure''" 1550 – 20 April 1619) was the Haseki Sultan (chief consort) of Murad III and Valide Sultan of the Ottoman Empire as the mother of Mehmed III and the grandmother of Sultans: Ahmed I and Mu ...

(1595–1603) Ottoman Empire * Sancha of Castile (1196–1208) Aragon * Sancha of León (1065–1067) León * Saovabha Phongsri (1910–1919) Thailand * Sirikit (from 2016) Thailand *

Sofía of Spain Sofia is the capital and largest city of Bulgaria. Sofia may also refer to: People * Sofia (given name), alternate form of the given name Sophia *Sofia (Filipino singer), a bossa nova singer from the Philippines * Sofia (Swedish singer), full n ...

(from 2014) *

Sophia of Halshany Sophia (Sonka) of Halshany or Sophia Holshanska ( be, Соф'я Гальшанская, translit=Sofja Halšanskaja; lt, Sofija Alšėniškė; pl, Zofia Holszańska; – September 21, 1461 in Kraków) was a princess of Halshany and was Queen o ...

(1434–1461) Poland * Sophia of Minsk (1182–1198) Denmark * Sophia of Nassau (1907–1913) Sweden * Sophia of Prussia (1917–1920, 1922–1936) Greece * Sophie of Mecklenburg-Güstrow (1588–1631) Denmark and Norway *

Sophie Amalie of Brunswick-Calenberg Sophie Amalie of Brunswick-Calenberg (24 March 1628 – 20 February 1685) was Queen of Denmark and Norway as the consort of the King Frederick III of Denmark. She is known for her political influence, as well as for her cultural impact: she acte ...

(1670–1685) Denmark and Norway * Sophia Dorothea of Hanover (1740–1757) Prussia * Sophia Magdalena of Denmark (1792–1809) Sweden * Sophie Magdalene of Brandenburg-Kulmbach (1746–1766) Denmark and Norway * Tadj ol-Molouk (1941–1979) Persia (Iran) * Therese of Saxe-Hildburghausen (1848–1854) Bavaria * Tiye (14th century BC) Egypt * Tshering Yangdon (from 2006) Bhutan * Turhan Sultan (1651–1681) Ottoman Empire * Violant of Aragon (1284–1295) Castile and León * Victoria, Princess Royal (1888–1901) Prussia * Zein al-Sharaf Talal (1952–1994) Jordan

Exceptional cases

* Ingeborg of Norway (1301–1361), Duchess of Södermanland, acted and ranked as if she were a queen regnant for a year before the Swedish reign of her son, King Magnus IV, and thereafter as if she were his queen mother, serving intermittently on his board of regents. However, though she has been called ''the King Mother'' in biographical literature, she was never officially recognized as queen or queen mother. *Her granddaughter-in-law

Margaret Margaret is a female first name, derived via French () and Latin () from grc, μαργαρίτης () meaning "pearl". The Greek is borrowed from Persian. Margaret has been an English name since the 11th century, and remained popular througho ...

(1353–1412), who ruled all of Scandinavia as the mother of one king and the adoptive mother of another, held a similarly complicated unofficial position but for much longer, and in traditional history is given the title of Queen. Early in her career, she had been Queen consort of Norway for seventeen years and of Sweden for one year. *

(1598–1674) was neither consort of a ruling king nor a ruling queen or regent. In practical terms her husband Shahaji was a nobleman under other rulers, but her son founded an independent empire and became its sovereign. Hence she is given the title Queen Mother – ''Rajmata'' in Hindi. * Sadijé Toptani (1876–1934), mother of King Zog I of Albania: after her son became king in 1928 she was raised to the title Queen Mother of the Albanians (''Nëna Mbretëreshë e Shqiptarëve'') with the style of Her Majesty, a position she held from September 1, 1928, until her death. * Helen of Greece and Denmark was the wife of the future Carol II of Romania from 1921 to 1928, and mother of King Michael of Romania. Michael first ruled 1927–30, ''before'' his father was king, and again after his father abdicated. When in 1930 Carol returned to Romania and assumed the throne, he actually retrodated his reign to 1927, the year his father ( King Ferdinand) died. As Helen had not yet divorced her playboy husband at the time (that was to happen in the following year), he unwittingly granted her the retroactive title of queen. Thus, in 1940, after his abdication and the second accession of their son, she rightfully became the queen mother of Romania. *Similarly, Gayatri Devi, Maharani of Jaipur (1919–2009) was the third wife of her husband, the monarch, but not the mother of his successor, a son by the king's first wife. However, she has been accorded the title of queen mother (''Rajmata'') anyway. *The Valide Sultan or Sultana mother was title which usually held by the mother of the reigning Ottoman Sultan, even though she may never have been chief consort ( haseki sultan). *

Shubhadrangi The information about Mother of Ashoka The Great (c. 3rd century BCE), the 3rd Mauryan emperor of ancient India, varies between different sources. Ashoka's own inscriptions and the main texts that provide information about his life (such as ''As ...

was mother of future emperor Ashoka, but was murdered by

Susima Susima (also Sushima) was the Crown prince of the Maurya Empire of ancient India and the eldest son and heir-apparent of the second Mauryan emperor Bindusara. He was next in line for his father's throne, but was killed by his younger half-bro ...

in order to save her daughter in law. She was not able to be empress mother (rajmata) *Helena Maurya, the second wife of

Chandragupta Maurya Chandragupta Maurya (350-295 BCE) was a ruler in Ancient India who expanded a geographically-extensive kingdom based in Magadha and founded the Maurya dynasty. He reigned from 320 BCE to 298 BCE. The Maurya kingdom expanded to become an empi ...

, was step mother of Bindusara, and held the title of Rajmata until her death.

King father

The male equivalent of a queen mother, being a male former monarch or consort who is the father of the reigning monarch, is sometimes known as the "king father" or another variation based on the title of the monarch or consort. If a king abdicates and passes the throne to his child, or if a reigning queen abdicates or dies and is survived by her husband, he might acquire a substantive title.

Examples

*King

Norodom Sihanouk Norodom Sihanouk (; km, នរោត្តម សីហនុ, ; 31 October 192215 October 2012) was a Cambodian statesman, Sangkum and FUNCINPEC politician, Norodom Sihanouk filmography, film director, and composer who led Cambodia in vari ...

of Cambodia was styled as "His Majesty King Father Norodom Sihanouk" when he abdicated the throne in favor of his son,

Norodom Sihamoni Norodom Sihamoni ( km, នរោត្តម សីហមុនី, ; born 14 May 1953) is King of Cambodia. He became King on 14 October 2004, a week after the abdication of his father, Norodom Sihanouk. He is the eldest son of Norodom Sihano ...

. *

Jigme Singye Wangchuck Jigme Singye Wangchuck ( dz, འཇིགས་མེད་སེང་གེ་དབང་ཕྱུག་, ; born 11 November 1955) is a member of the House of Wangchuck who was the king of Bhutan (Druk Gyalpo) from 1972 until his abdicati ...

became the king father of Bhutan following his abdication in favor of his son, Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck. * Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani became the "Father Emir" of Qatar following his abdication as emir in favor of his son, Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani. *After King Albert II of the Belgians abdicated in 2013, his style was shortened to ''His Majesty King Albert'' (as did King Leopold III); "king father" is the name of his role rather than a style or title. *After Sultan Omar Ali Saifuddien III of Brunei abdicated, he became the "Begawan Sultan" or the sultan father. He was given the title of "His Majesty The Sultan-Father", or in Malay, ''Duli Yang Teramat Mulia Paduka Seri Begawan Sultan,'' and this office became vacant when he died. * Francisco, Duke of Cádiz, the king consort of Isabel II of Spain, was king father to Alfonso XII of Spain. * Ferdinand II of Portugal, ''

jure uxoris ''Jure uxoris'' (a Latin phrase meaning "by right of (his) wife"), citing . describes a title of nobility used by a man because his wife holds the office or title ''suo jure'' ("in her own right"). Similarly, the husband of an heiress could becom ...

'' king to Maria II of Portugal, was king father to Pedro V of Portugal and

Luís I of Portugal Dom Luís I (31 October 1838, in Lisbon – 19 October 1889, in Cascais), known as The Popular (Portuguese: O Popular) was a member of the ruling House of Braganza,"While remaining patrilineal dynasts of the House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha accord ...

. *Following his abdication, Ludwig I of Bavaria was king father to Maximilian II of Bavaria. *In the former Chinese Empire, a living monarch who passed the throne to his son was called '' Taishang Huang''. This title was last bestowed upon

Qianlong Emperor The Qianlong Emperor (25 September 17117 February 1799), also known by his temple name Emperor Gaozong of Qing, born Hongli, was the fifth Emperor of the Qing dynasty and the fourth Qing emperor to rule over China proper, reigning from 1735 t ...

Current comparisons

The following individuals hold a similar role as mothers or fathers of their country's reigning monarchs: * Ndlovukati Ntfombi of Eswatini (from 1986) * Beatrix of the Netherlands (from 2013) * King Albert II of Belgium (from 2013) *

(from 2013) * Father Emir of Qatar Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani (from 2013) * King Juan Carlos I of Spain (from 2014) *

Queen Sofía of Spain Sofía of Greece and Denmark ( el, Σοφία; born 2 November 1938) is a member of the Spanish royal family who was List of Spanish royal consorts, Queen of Spain from 1975 to 2014 as the wife of King Juan Carlos I. She is the first child of ...

(from 2014) * Queen Sirikit of Thailand (from 2019) * Queen Norodom the Queen Mother of Cambodia (from 2004) * Emperor Emeritus Akihito of Japan (from 2019) * Empress Emerita Michiko of Japan (from 2019)

References

{{Reflist Mother * * Royal titles