English queens dowager

Who is English queens dowager?

Queen mother is defined as "a queen dowager who is the mother of the reigning sovereign". The term has been used in England since at least 1577 and Samuel Pepys refers to Charles II's mother Henrietta Maria as the "Queene Mother". Further, she was described as the Queen Mother in early editions of the Book of Common Prayer and subsequent queen mothers were also so described in later editions.

It is not clear whether earlier English queen mothers were ever referred to by that term, or only as "dowager queen". Elizabeth Woodville was sometimes called "queen dowager".