A dowager is a widow who holds a title or property, or Dower, derived from her deceased husband. As an adjective, Dowager usually appears in association with monarchical and aristocratic titles. Dower (Lat. ... “Kingdom” redirects here. ... Forms of government Part of the Politics series Politics Portal This box:      The term aristocracy refers to a form of government where power is hereditary, and split between a small number of families. ...

In loose popular usage, dowager as a stand-alone noun may refer to any elderly woman, especially one who is wealthy or behaves with dignity.

Use in the United Kingdom

In the United Kingdom, the widow of a peer may continue to use the style she had during her husband's lifetime, e.g. "Countess of Loamshire", provided that his successor, if any, has no wife to bear the plain title. Otherwise she more properly prefixes either her forename or the word Dowager, e.g. "Jane, Countess of Loamshire" or "Dowager Countess of Loamshire". (In any case she would continue to be called "Lady Loamshire".) Look up peer in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Placeholder names are words that refer to objects or people whose names are either irrelevant or unknown in the context which it is being discussed. ... A given name specifies and differentiates between members of a group of individuals, especially a family, all of whose members usually share the same family name. ...

Monarchical dowagers

China recognized Empress dowagers and Grand empress dowagers. Empress Dowager (Chinese, Korean and Japanese: 皇太后; Chinese pinyin Húang Tài Hòu, Korean pronunciation: Hwang Tae Hu, Japanese pronunciation: Kōtaigō) was title given to the mother of a Chinese emperor. ... The title Grand Empress Dowager (simplified and traditional Chinese: 太皇太后, pinyin tai4 huang2 tai4 hou4) was given to the grandmother or a woman from the grandmother generation of the Chinese dynastic ruler. ...

Queen Dowager is used in the United Kingdom and several other countries. A Queen Dowager or Dowager Queen is a title or status generally held by the widow of a deceased king. ...

Examples

Following the annulment of her marriage to King Henry VIII of England, Catherine of Aragon was styled either "Princess Dowager of Wales" or "Dowager Princess of Wales" in consequence of her previous marriage (1501) to Henry's older brother, Arthur, Prince of Wales (died 1502). This article or section needs copy editing for grammar, style, cohesion, tone and/or spelling. ... Henry VIII (28 June 1491 - 28 January 1547) was King of England and Lord of Ireland, later King of Ireland, from 22 April 1509 until his death. ... Catherine of Aragon, born Infanta Catherine of Aragon (Castilian: Catalina de Aragón y Castilla; 16 December 1485 – 7 January 1536) was the first wife of Henry VIII of England. ... Arthur Tudor (19 September/20 September 1486- 2 April 1502) was the first son and, therefore, heir of King Henry VII of England and Wales, and Elizabeth of York. ...

Following the death of Edward John Spencer, 8th Earl Spencer in 1992, his widow, Raine, ceased to use the style Countess Spencer, becoming Raine, Dowager Countess Spencer. Her step-daughter-in-law, Victoria, became Countess Spencer. Edward John Spencer, 8th Earl Spencer (January 24, 1924 - March 29, 1992) was born at 24 Sussex Square, London, England, the son of Albert Edward John Spencer, 7th Earl Spencer (1892-1975) and his wife, the former Cynthia Elinor Beatrix Hamilton (1897-1972), daughter of the 3rd Duke of Abercorn. ... Raine, Countess Spencer was born Raine McCorquodale on September 9, 1929, the only child of the celebrated romance novelist Dame Barbara Cartland and her first husband, Alexander McCorquodale, an Army officer who was an heir to a printing fortune. ...

In the 1997 movie Anastasia, the term is said many times to address to the Dowager Empress Marie, Anastasia's grandmother. Anastasia or Anastacia or Anastatia is a female given name which comes from Koine Greek. ...