Empress dowager (also dowager empress or empress mother; Chinese and Japanese: 皇太后; pinyin: huángtàihòu; rōmaji: Kōtaigō; Korean: 황태후 (皇太后); romaja: Hwang Tae Hu; Vietnamese: Hoàng Thái Hậu (皇太后)) is the English language translation of the title given to the mother or widow of a monarch, especially in regard to Chinese, Japanese, Korean, or Vietnamese monarchs in the Chinese cultural sphere. The term, however, is applied well beyond just East Asia.
The title was also given occasionally to another woman of the same generation, while a woman from the previous generation was sometimes given the title of grand empress dowager (Chinese and Japanese: 太皇太后; pinyin: tàihúangtàihòu; rōmaji: Taikōtaigō; Korean: 태황태후 (太皇太后); romaja: Tae Hwang Tae Hu; Vietnamese: Thái Hoàng Thái Hậu (太皇太后)). An empress dowager wielded power over the harem and imperial family. Numerous empress dowagers held regency during the reign of underage emperors. Many of the most prominent empress dowagers also extended their control for long periods after the emperor was old enough to govern. This was a source of political turmoil according to the traditional view of Chinese history.
In Europe, the title dowager empress was given to the wife of a deceased Emperor of Russia or Holy Roman Emperor.
Contents
By country
For grand empresses dowager, visit grand empress dowager.
East Asia
Han dynasty
Empress Dowager Lü (241–180 BC), empress consort of Emperor Gaozu of Han (256-195 BC, r. 202-195 BC)
Empress Dowager Dou
Empress Dowager Wang
Empress Dowager Deng
Empress Dowager Liang (116–150), empress to Emperor Shun of Han (115–144, r. 125–144)
Empress Dowager He (d. 189), second empress consort of Emperor Ling of Han (156–189, r. 168–189)
Jin dynasty
Empress Wenming (217–268), wife of Sima Zhao (211–265)
Yang Zhi, second empress of Emperor Wu of Jin
Yu Wenjun, wife of Emperor Ming of Jin
Chu Suanzi, wife of Emperor Kang of Jin
Northern Wei dynasty
Empress Dowager Feng, empress consort of Emperor Wencheng of Northern Wei (440–465, r. 452–465)
Empress Dowager Hu, (d. 528), concubine of Emperor Xuanwu (483–515, r. 499–515)
Liu Song dynasty
Empress Dowager Xiao Wenshou (343–423), stepmother of Emperor Wu of Liu Song (363–422, r. 420–422)
Tang dynasty
Empress Dowager Wu, more commonly known as Wu Zetian
Europe
Caroline Augusta of Bavaria, widow of Emperor Francis I
Maria Anna of Savoy, widow of Emperor Ferdinand I
Adelaide of Italy was Holy Roman Empress by marriage to Emperor Otto the Great and was crowned alongside him in 962. After her husband's death, her son Otto II succeeded as Emperor, and on his death he was succeeded by Adelaide's grandson Otto III. She served as regent until he reached his majority.
Although never referred to as a dowager, Empress Matilda was the Holy Roman Empress from 1114 by her marriage to Emperor Henry V. She continued to be referred to as "Empress" long after the death of her first husband in 1125, and her subsequent remarriage to Geoffrey Plantagenet, Count of Anjou in 1128.
Despite having abandoned the throne of Sicily for her son Frederick II, Empress Constance of Sicily, widow of Henry VI, retained her title as Empress Dowager until her death in 1198.
Eleonora Gonzaga, was Holy Roman Empress by marriage to Emperor Ferdinand III, and after his death was Empress Dowager from 1657–1686.
Other empresses dowagers include:
Judith of Bavaria, widow of Louis I
Engelberga, widow of Louis II
Richilde of Provence, widow of Charles II
Ageltrude, widow of Guy
Ota, widow of Arnulf
Theophanu, widow of Otto II
Cunigunde of Luxembourg, widow of Henry II
Gisela of Swabia, widow of Conrad II
South Asia
Queen-Empress Victoria (1819–1901, r. 1837–1901) was widowed in 1861, before her accession as Empress of India. Her son, her grandson and her great-grandson all died before their wives, and their widows were known as Empresses dowager in this Indian context. Had George VI, the last Emperor of India, died before the independence of India was proclaimed in 1947, his widow would have been known as the dowager empress of India. However, George VI did not die until 1952, some years after India's formal independence and the renunciation of the title Emperor of India by the British monarch (which took place formally in 1948).
Queen-Empress Alexandra (d. 20 November 1925), widow of King-Emperor Edward VII (r. 1901–1910)
Queen-Empress Mary (d. 24 March 1953), widow of King-Emperor George V (r. 1910–1936)
Queen-Empress Elizabeth (d. 30 March 2002), widow of King-Emperor George VI (r. 1936–1947)
Southeast Asia
Đinh-Early Lê dynasties
Empress Dowager Dương Vân Nga (952–1000): In 979, her husband Emperor Đinh Bộ Lĩnh died after an assassination, her son Prince Đinh Toàn ascended to the throne, she became empress dowager and handled all political matters. But later she dethroned her son and ceded the throne to Lê Đại Hành and married him. Once again she took the title of empress consort. Because she was an empress twice with two different emperors, she is called "Hoàng hậu hai triều" (Two-dynasty Empress).
Lý dynasty
Empress Dowager Thượng Dương (?–1073): While she could not give birth to any sons, her husband's concubine Lady Ỷ Lan gave birth to a prince, called Lý Càn Đức. After husband's death, she became empress dowager and declared that she will "buông rèm nhiếp chính" (regent) for the new seven-year-old emperor, but the mother of the new emperor Lady Dowager Ỷ Lan vehemently opposed and forced her to the death. Her tenure of being an empress dowager is one year.
Empress Dowager Ỷ Lan (c. 1044–1117): After dethroning and killing the empress dowager, she became empress dowager and kept all political powers
Empress Dowager Chiêu Linh (?–1200): Empress of Emperor Lý Thần Tông. Her son was appointed as crown prince, but later he was dethroned from the seat of crown prince to a normal prince due to an event. Her husband's concubine Lady Đỗ Thụy Châu gave birth to a prince and he was appointed as crown prince later. After her husband's death, the crown prince ascended to the throne, she became empress dowager.
Empress Dowager Đỗ Thụy Châu: After her son ascended to the throne, she became the co-empress dowager with Empress Dowager Chiêu Linh.
Empress Dowager An Toàn (?–1226): She was famous for misusing authority during the reign of her son Emperor Lý Huệ Tông. Her daughter-in-law, Empress Trần Thị Dung joined Trần Thủ Độ plotting to overthrow the Lý dynasty and replace by Trần dynasty. Trần Thủ Độ forced her son to abdicate and be a monk at the pagoda, her son did as Trần Thủ Độ told and ceded the throne to her granddaughter Lý Chiêu Hoàng, who is the only empress of Vietnamese history, thus, she became grand empress dowager. But later Trần Thủ Độ forced Lý Chiêu Hoàng to get married with his seven-year-old nephew Trần Cảnh and ceded the throne to Trần Cảnh. At that point, An Toàn was no longer an empress dowager.
South America
Amélie of Leuchtenberg (1812–1873), second wife and widow of Pedro I of Brazil (r. 1822–1831)