British queen mothers
Image:H.M. The Queen Mother Allan Warren crop.jpg|thumb|200px|right|alt=Portrait of Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon|Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon was styled Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother during her widowhood, a rare use of the term Queen Mother as an official style.
British queen mothers are queen dowagers who have been the mother of the reigning sovereign of England, Scotland or the United Kingdom. The term queen mother has been used in the English language since at least 1560. British queen mothers assume the style of "Her Majesty Queen " upon their husband's death. Moreover, a queen mother is not necessarily the mother of a queen regnant; the title applies regardless of the current monarch's gender.