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

Then Mary, Queen dowager of Hungary, resigned the regency with which she had been intrusted by her brother during the space of twenty-five years.

From The Great Events by Famous Historians, Volume 09 by Johnson, Rossiter

The Queen dowager, known as Chand Bibi, arrayed herself in armor; she veiled her face and led the troops in person.

From The Great Events by Famous Historians, Volume 09 by Johnson, Rossiter

He called for pen, ink, and paper, and wrote to the Earl of Feversham, and both to the Queen and the Queen dowager, to intercede with the King for his life.

From The Great Events by Famous Historians, Volume 12 by Rudd, John

Under the regency of the Queen dowager, with some passing fluctuations, the clerical interests on the whole kept the upper hand.

From A History of England Principally in the Seventeenth Century, Volume I (of 6) by Ranke, Leopold von