How to Rule Someone Else's Kingdom (Dowager Queens)

It was brought to my attention this week that while I have focused on the concept of female monarchs, I never have delved into the topic fully. Additionally, someone mentioned the concept of dowager queens, a rather unique role for women in history. Thus, this week I will discuss what happens to the wife of a monarch when said monarch dies using some fun examples throughout history.

First, however, we have a new term that needs defining:

• Dowager — A term reserved almost exclusively for females, a dowager is the spouse of a deceased monarch, and thereby a widow, who technically has no inherent powers.

With that being said, let us look at some dowager queens who quite certainly had inherent powers after the death of their husbands.

Eleanor of Aquitaine, Dowager Queen of England

Eleanor, Duchess of Aquitaine and Countess of Poitiers has already been mentioned before in these Dynastology posts. However, she also played an important role after the death of her second husband, Henry II of England, in 1189. Almost as soon as Henry II died, Richard the Lionheart released his mother from prison and returned her to London. She, rather than Prince John, acted as Richard's regent while Richard was on the Third Crusade. Eleanor also negotiated his release from captivity in Germany. When Richard died, Eleanor continued to aid King John during the early years of his reign starting in 1199. She went to Castile and negotiated with the king for a bride for King John. During the trip she was even captured and negotiated her own release. In 1201, John's nephew Arthur conspired with King Philip II of France to take over England. Eleanor sided with John and acted as a focus for both the armies of John and Arthur to attack. Arthur was defeated but Eleanor had finally had enough and took the veil as a nun, dying three years later. Eleanor is perhaps one of the most famous and exciting dowager queens in history, but she is certainly not the only one.

Isabella of France, Dowager Queen of England

Let us progress a few generations later in England, to the reign of Edward II and his wife Isabella of France. The barons of England were in riots even as the Scottish were actively achieving their independence. Edward II was a poor excuse for a ruler and his blatant homosexuality was injuring the government and his prestige. Isabella was stuck in the thick of this, being constantly pushed aside for men of questionable repute. By 1325, her marriage was effectively over, her children had been taken away from her, her staff arrested, and her lands redistributed. Her brother, King Charles IV of France, seized Edward's French possessions without much effort and Edward sent Isabella to negotiate for their return. However, Isabella became a rallying point for disenfranchised English nobles and Isabella decided to fight back against her hated husband. She agreed to a cease-fire and convinced Edward II to send his eldest son, Edward, to France to pay homage to the French king. Soon after, however, she took on as her co-conspirator and lover Roger Mortimer and the two of them began planning a systematic take over of Britain.

Within months, Isabella and Roger were ready with a small army of mercenaries and ships, having reached agreements with France and Scotland to not get involved in the ensuing conflict. As soon as Isabella touched land in England, the barons began rallying to her. Isabella wore widow's clothing to imply to the country that she was no longer Edward's queen. The campaign was fairly swift and saw the death or execution of the majority of Edward's followers. Edward, meanwhile, was captured and surrendered the Great Seal to Isabella. Soon after, in 1327, Isabella convinced Parliament to elevate her son to the throne as Edward III. Edward II was moved to the Welsh border to be imprisoned for life, but died mysteriously within a few months. Isabella and Roger ruled England together for four years until 1330 when Edward III violently removed Mortimer and took the throne by force. During that time, Isabella personally wore armor and fought against insurgent forced led by the Duke of Lancaster, her former ally. However, Isabella and Roger ruled an unstable realm and it was inevitable that the rightful king would claim his heritage at last. Isabella ended her time as dowager as first a family matron and then a nun, following the pattern of many dowager queens before her.

Catherine de' Medicis, Dowager Queen of France

From England, we travel to France and the multiple regimes of Catherine de' Medici, widow of King Henry II of France. When Henry II died in 1559, she was left with three young sons including the new king, Francis I. The irony is that Henry had disallowed Catherine from participating in any level of government, and directed most of his interest toward his mistress. Thus his death tossed Catherine firmly into an arena she had not yet known. To make things worse, France had just become engulfed in the Wars of Religion which would ultimately see the end of the House of Valois, of which her three sons would be its end. Catherine's role during the reign of her eldest son was, thus, troubled. The Duke of Guise took power as the regent but Francis preferred the aid of his mother. While the Guise faction fought against the Huguenots, Catherine sought a more neutral stance. When Francis II was about to die in 1560, Catherine negotiated a treaty with the Huguenot leader, Anthony de Bourbon, which allowed her to become regent while he was returned certain prisoners of war.

Charles IX became king soon after and Catherine was his regent. Unfortunately for Catherine, France was in no position to listen to any ruler, be it king or regent. Guise continued his war against the Huguenots while Catherine tried to mend the rift between the two sides. Ultimately, it was not to be and an international conflict ensued. Catherine took on the leadership of the Royalist army while Guise fought against both Huguenots and Royalists. His death in 1563 did little to stop the conflict. When Charles IX came of age later that year, few noticed including the Dowager. Catherine and Charles toured across France until the Huguenots finally became the enemy of the royalists through deception and backstabbing. Catherine did manage to marry her daughter off to Henry III of Navarre, the senior Bourbon heir and leader of the Huguenots, but the death of Henry III's mother in Paris suggested foul play. In August 1572, the St. Bartholomew's Day massacre occurred and it has stained Catherine's reputation ever since, despite the fact that she may or may not have been involved. The slaughter of Huguenots throughout France lasted for months and Henry III of Navarre converted to Catholicism to end the bloodshed.

Charles died in 1574 unexpectedly, and he named his mother regent for Henry III, since Henry was currently the elected king of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. Henry returned three months later, having given up his eastern throne. Unlike his predecessors, he was an adult and did not need Catherine to rule in his stead. In the succeeding years, Catherine became the chief political broker for her family, negotiating marriages and scolding her children for their bad family decisions. Her eldest son, Francis, caused a near collapse of royal power, forcing Henry to sign a treaty with the Huguenots. Francis' death in 1584 signalled the end of any good fortunes for the family as Henry III had as yet failed to produce a son. Catherine also acted as a diplomat and roamed France forming alliances and treaties. In 1588, facing renewed warfare and an occupation of Paris by the Duke of Guise, Henry III gave into Catholic demands, dissolved the parliament and fled the city. Catherine was effectively removed from power and she didn't even know it. Henry III murdered in cold blood the Duke of Guise a few months later and it is partially due to this that Catherine died on 5 January 1589.


And so I have presented for you just three cases of Dowager Queens who made a significant difference in royal politics. Their desires for power and stability, often in spite of incompetent or underage children, led the course of their nations for many years. There are many MANY more Dowager Queens in history and I wish I could present more of them today, but alas I have run out of time. Until again...