British queen mothers

Updated on Jan 24, 2024

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Reference style Her Majesty Alternative style Ma'am		Spoken style Your Majesty

Queen mother is defined as "a queen dowager who is the mother of the reigning sovereign".

Definition

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.

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