Fascinating Fridays (Dowager Titles)

Dowager, now there is a word not often heard in modern democratic discussions. It is as if this word is a fossil from a long time ago when society was entrenched in hierarchical principles and of course Royalty.

When the head of a Royal or Noble House is male and marries, his wife gains his titles by courtesy. If he is a Duke, she becomes a Duchess in honour of her status as his wife. She does not become a Duchess in her own right. In order to gain a title in your own right you must inherit it or be granted it by a Sovereign Monarch. So if a lady gains a title through being married then that courtesy title passes on to her son's wife when he gains his father's title. What happens to the widow, is what today's post is all about.

A Dowager  is the widow of a Head of a Royal or Noble House. There is no such thing as a male Dowager, it is reserved for widows only. She will not be referred to as a Dowager unless the new holder of the title has a wife that in effect causes her to lose her own courtesy position and title. Let's use an example. The Count von Bismarck inherited his title upon his father's death. His mother is the Countess Von Bismarck by courtesy. Once the new Count marries, his mother becomes the Dowager Countess Von Bismarck. This serves in distinguishes between the two Countesses von Bismarck. Sometimes the widow might use her first name, as in Countess Maria von Bismarck but this can be considered demeaning due to the fact that first names are often used for daughters or sisters of a Count and not the mother or wife which should take precedence. This "rule" however changes between countries.

The mother of the current Grand Duke of Hanoveria is officially known as the Dowager Grand Duchess of Hanoveria due to her son's wife bearing the title, Grand Duchess of Hanoveria. She is also known by another title she bears in her own right namely, Princess Beatrice and could legally be called that.

The Dowager Countess Cartwright is the mother of the current Earl Cartwright but does not have to add Dowager to her title if she doesn't like to because her son remains a bachelor. She does however already announce herself as the Dowager.

A Dowager has the right to the title regardless of whether her son or nephew or even grand nephew inherits her husband's title after his death. This brings us to the titles of King and Queen, where special concession is made due to the high profiles of the people bearing these titles. Unlike other titles where the wife gains rank by courtesy of her husband, the wife of a King is actually crowned and made a Queen. Therefore if her name is Mary, she would be known as Queen Mary. She is not made a ruling Queen but a Consort Queen and bears this title for life regardless of her husband. When she becomes a widow she may continue to be referred to as Queen Mary. Strictly speaking she is a Dowager but would only be referred to as such if her name happens to be the same as the new King's wife. Finally, if she does not like the term Dowager, then she may be called Queen Mother but only if the new King is actually her son.

There are anomalies in the case of widows as can be expected with most situations. In the Kingdom of Hispania the current ruler, Queen Maria is the daughter of the Dowager Princess of Cataljone. This is due to the fact, that even though the Queen's mother was married to the heir to the throne, her husband never became King. The last Prince of Cataljone was killed in the 96 revolution before he succeeded to the throne and his young daughter became Queen Maria I. The Prince's wife therefore gained the title of Dowager Princess of Cataljone due to the fact that the title of Prince of Cataljone is reserved for the heir to the throne and is now held by the daughter of the current Queen Maria.

The Dowager Princess of Cataljone.