A
queen dowager,
dowager queen or
queen mother (compare:
princess dowager,
dowager princess or
princess mother) 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 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 and not due to marriage to a king is a
queen regnant.)