Queen mother

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"Princess Mother" redirects here. For the mother of Rama VIII and Rama IX, see Srinagarindra.For other uses, see Queen mother (disambiguation).

A queen mother is a former queen, often a queen dowager, who is the mother of the reigning monarch. [a] The term has been used in English since the early 1560s. [1] 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. The rank does not go to all mothers of monarchs though. A mother of a ruling monarch may only be referred to as queen mother if she was a queen consort as opposed to a princess consort.

Contents

"The Queen Mother" usually, in English, refers to Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother (queen consort, 1936–1952; queen mother, 1952–2002), who was the mother of Queen Elizabeth II 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". [2]

Status

A queen mother is often a queen dowager, 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. [3] For example, Juliana of the Netherlands, who abdicated in favor of her daughter Beatrix, was sometimes colloquially referred to as the queen mother despite declining the title and having reverted to being a princess. [4] [5] Queen Paola of Belgium, 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. [6]

A former queen consort who is the grandmother of the reigning monarch is sometimes called the queen grandmother. Savang Vadhana of Thailand was known by this style. [7]

United Kingdom

The widowed mother of Queen Elizabeth II was known as Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother. H.M. The Queen Mother Allan Warren crop.jpg
The widowed mother of Queen Elizabeth II was known as Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother.

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 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. 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. [8]

Ottoman Empire

In the Ottoman Empire, valide sultan (Ottoman Turkish : والده سلطان) or sultana mother was the title held by the mother of a ruling Sultan. [9] The title was first used in the 16th century for Hafsa Sultan, consort of Selim I and mother of Suleiman the Magnificent, superseding the previous title of mehd-i ülya ("cradle of the great"). [9] The Turkish pronunciation of the word Valide is [vaː.liˈde] .

The second position the most important position in the Ottoman Empire after the sultan himself and being more powerful in the hierarchy than Haseki sultan. As the mother to the sultan, by Islamic tradition ("A mother's right is God's right"), [10] 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. [9] In particular during the 17th century, in a period known as the "Sultanate of Women", a series of incompetent or child sultans raised the role of the valide sultan to new heights. [11]

India

In India, a queen (usually styled rani, or in the Muslim tradition, begum) who becomes queen-mother was known in Sanskrit and Hindi as a rajamata - literally, mother of the king/monarch.

Africa

In Eswatini, 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 ceremony.

In Lesotho, Queen Mamohato Bereng Seeiso became Queen mother when her son King Letsie III became King. She served as Queen Mother until her death. There are many other queen mothers in Africa's tribal monarchies, most of whom have served as regents to their sons.

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:

Queen Hedwig Eleanor of Sweden (nee Princess of Holstein-Gottorp) was twice regent of that country, once for her only son, once for a grandson David von Krafft-Portratt av Hedvig Eleonora.jpg
Queen Hedwig Eleanor of Sweden (née Princess of Holstein-Gottorp) was twice regent of that country, once for her only son, once for a grandson

Exceptional cases

Duchess Ingeborg was regent of Norway and Sweden 1318-1319 Ingiburga of Sweden (daughter of Hacon) bust 2009 Linkoping (2).jpg
Duchess Ingeborg was regent of Norway and Sweden 1318–1319

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

Current comparisons

The following individuals hold a similar role as mothers or fathers of their country's reigning monarchs:

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ A queen mother is defined as "A Queen dowager who is the mother of the reigning sovereign" by both the Oxford English Dictionary and Webster's Third New International Dictionary.

Related Research Articles

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Queen Mary, Queen Marie, or Queen Maria may refer to:

Queen Isabella may refer to:

Queen Elizabeth, Queen Elisabeth or Elizabeth the Queen may refer to:

A queen consort is the wife of a reigning king, and usually shares her spouse's social rank and status. She holds the feminine equivalent of the king's monarchical titles and may be crowned and anointed, but historically she does not formally share the king's political and military powers, unless on occasion acting as regent.

A prince consort is the husband of a monarch who is not a monarch in his own right. In recognition of his status, a prince consort may be given a formal title, such as prince. Most monarchies do not allow the husband of a queen regnant to be titled as a king because it is perceived as a higher title than queen, however, some monarchies use the title of king consort for the role.

A queen dowager or dowager queen 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, while dowager indicates a woman who continues to hold the title from her deceased husband. A queen mother is a former queen consort, often a dowager queen, who is the mother of the reigning monarch.

A personal union is a combination of two or more monarchical states that have the same monarch while their boundaries, laws, and interests remain distinct. A real union, by contrast, involves the constituent states being to some extent interlinked, such as by sharing some limited governmental institutions. Unlike a personal union, in a federation or a unitary state, a central (federal) government spanning all member states exists, with the degree of self-governance distinguishing the two. The ruler in a personal union does not need to be a hereditary monarch.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Queen regnant</span> Female monarch who rules in her own right

A queen regnant is a female monarch, equivalent in rank, title and position to a king. She reigns suo jure over a realm known as a kingdom; as opposed to a queen consort, who is married to a reigning king; or a queen regent, who is the guardian of a child monarch and rules pro tempore in the child's stead or instead of her husband who is absent from the realm, be it de jure in sharing power or de facto in ruling alone. A queen regnant is sometimes called a woman king. A princess, duchess, or grand duchess regnant is a female monarch who reigns suo jure over a principality or (grand) duchy; an empress regnant is a female monarch who reigns suo jure over an empire.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eleanor of Austria</span> Queen of Portugal (1518–1521) and France (1530–1547)

Eleanor of Austria, also called Eleanor of Castile, was born an Archduchess of Austria and Infanta of Castile from the House of Habsburg, and subsequently became Queen consort of Portugal (1518–1521) and of France (1530–1547). She also held the Duchy of Touraine (1547–1558) in dower. She is called "Leonor" in Spanish and Portuguese and "Éléonore" or "Aliénor" in French.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Burial sites of European monarchs and consorts</span>

This list contains all European emperors, kings and regent princes and their consorts as well as well-known crown princes since the Middle Ages, whereas the lists are starting with either the beginning of the monarchy or with a change of the dynasty. In addition, it contains the still-existing principalities of Monaco and Liechtenstein and the Grand-Duchy of Luxembourg.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Coronations in Europe</span>

Coronations were previously held in the monarchies of Europe. The United Kingdom is the only monarchy in Europe that still practises coronations. Other European monarchies either have replaced coronations with simpler ceremonies to mark an accession or have never practised them. Most monarchies today only require a simple oath to be taken in the presence of the country's legislature.

Queen Beatrix was the Queen of Netherlands from 1980 until her abdication in 2013.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">King</span> Title given to a male monarch

King is the title given to a male monarch in a variety of contexts. A king is an absolute monarch if he holds the powers of government without control, or the entire sovereignty over a nation; he is a limited monarch if his power is restrained by fixed laws; and he is an absolute, when he holds the whole legislative, judicial, and executive power, or when the legislative or judicial powers, or both, are vested in other people by the king. Kings are hereditary sovereigns when they hold the powers of government by right of birth or inheritance, and elective when raised to the throne by choice.

References

  1. ↑ "Queen mother" . Oxford English Dictionary (Online ed.). Oxford University Press.(Subscription or participating institution membership required.)
  2. ↑ "Announcement of the royal title Her Majesty Queen Sirikit the Queen Mother" (PDF). Royal Thai Government Gazette (in Thai). 136 (15b). 2019-05-05. Archived from the original (PDF) on May 5, 2019.
  3. ↑ Eksouzian-Cavadas, Ana (2020-11-04). "What will happen when The Queen steps down?". Vogue Australia. Archived from the original on 2021-09-24. Retrieved 2021-09-24.
  4. ↑ "Dutch Queen Mother Juliana Dies at 94". Washington Post. March 21, 2004.
  5. ↑ Simons, Marlise (2004-03-21). "Princess Juliana, Former Dutch Monarch, Is Dead at 94". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331. Archived from the original on 2021-09-24. Retrieved 2021-09-24.
  6. ↑ "Belgium's queen mother flies home for health tests". AP. September 26, 2018. Archived from the original on December 14, 2022. Retrieved September 30, 2021.
  7. ↑ Finestone, Jeffrey. The Royal Family of Thailand: The Descendants of King Chulalongkorn. Bangkok : Phitsanulok Publishing, 1989, p. 64
  8. ↑ U.S. National Archives, "When Queen Elizabeth Dies", Prologue Magazine, Summer 1998
  9. 1 2 3 Davis, Fanny (1986). "The Valide". The Ottoman Lady: A Social History from 1718 to 1918. ISBN   0-313-24811-7. Archived from the original on 2022-04-07. Retrieved 2020-12-16.
  10. ↑ "Can Muslims Celebrate Mother's Day?". Belief.net. Archived from the original on March 3, 2016. Retrieved August 22, 2016.
  11. ↑ Peirce, Leslie P., The Imperial Harem: Women and Sovereignty in the Ottoman Empire, Oxford University Press, 1993, ISBN   0-19-508677-5 (paperback)
  12. ↑ Michie, God Save The Queen at 290
  13. ↑ Grethe Authén Blom Norsk Historisk Tidskrift Oslo 1981 p. 425
  14. ↑ Denis D. Gray (February 4, 2013). "Cambodia mourns as 'King-Father' Sihanouk cremated". Yahoo News. Archived from the original on September 20, 2016. Retrieved August 22, 2016.
  15. ↑ Walker, Lesley (2015-12-29). "Qatar's Father Emir flown to Switzerland to treat broken leg". Doha News | Qatar. Archived from the original on 2022-10-06. Retrieved 2022-11-21.
  16. ↑ Sidhu, Jatswan S. (2009-12-22). Historical Dictionary of Brunei Darussalam. Scarecrow Press. ISBN   978-0-8108-7078-9. Archived from the original on 2022-11-21. Retrieved 2022-11-21.
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