Reine mère

A queen mother is a former queen, often a queen dowager, 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. 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. " 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". 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. 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. 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. 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. British queen mothers The title "queen mother" evolved to distinguish a queen dowager from all other queens when she is also the mother of the reigning sovereign.