Buckingham Palace announced Monday that King Charles III was recently diagnosed with cancer. The news sparked search interest in what would happen to his wife, Queen Camilla, if she outlives the 75-year-old monarch.
Camilla would likely take on the title of queen dowager.
Merriam Webster defines queen dowager as "the widow of a king." The label is an important distinction from "queen mother," the title Queen Elizabeth II’s mother, Queen Elizabeth Angela Marguerite Bowes-Lyon, took on after her husband, King George VI, passed away in 1952. While all widows of kings are technically queen dowagers, the title of queen mother for Elizabeth's mom was to distinguish her role as the birth mother to the reigning heir.
In Camilla's case, she is not the mother of the reigning heir, Prince William.
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Camilla’s current official title is queen, though she was briefly known as "queen consort" after Queen Elizabeth's death. Her title changed to just queen ahead of Charles' coronation. A consort signifies husband or wife of a monarch, according to the Royal Collection Trust. Although when Charles took the crown in May, the palace dropped “consort” from her title on the mailed invitations, marking a significant shift in the 76-year-old's public image.
When Prince William eventually ascends to the throne, his wife, Princess Catherine, will take on the title of queen.
The last time a British royal family member used the title of queen dowager was nearly 200 years ago, after the death of King William IV. When he died in 1837, he and his widow, Queen Adelaide, did not have any children to ascend an heir. His niece Queen Victoria took the throne and Queen Adelaide became the queen dowager.
Some past queen dowagers who were not queen mothers in British history include King Henry IV’s second wife Joan of Navarre and Katherine Parr, the sixth wife of Henry VIII, according to Town and Country.
