queen dowager

American  

noun

1. the widow of a king.

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queen dowager British  

noun

1. the widow of a king

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Etymology

Origin of queen dowager

First recorded in 1615–25

Example Sentences

The list includes three former prime ministers of Canada, the queen dowager of Jordan and at least five members of the Qatari ruling family.

From New York Times

The judges are Johnny Iuzzini, who spent two seasons as the judge of Bravo’s Top Chef: Just Desserts, and Bake Off’s reigning queen dowager Mary Berry.

From The Guardian

Queen's Gambit, Fremantle's debut novel, is a historical romance based on the career of Henry's last wife, Katherine Parr, who uniquely survived to become queen dowager.

From The Guardian

By no means approving of a plan which thus unceremoniously excluded her eldest daughter from the throne, the queen dowager endeavored to oppose injustice by policy.

From Project Gutenberg

She sat between two vagabonds in white blouses, with whom she was talking earnestly, and looked like--well, like a queen dowager in disguise.

From Project Gutenberg