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Empress dowager

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 regards 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.

For grand empresses dowager, visit grand empress dowager.

In the complex organization of the Japanese Imperial Court, the title of "empress dowager" does not automatically devolve to the principal consort of an Emperor who has died. The title "Kōtaigō" can only be bestowed or granted by the Emperor who will have acceded to the Chrysanthemum Throne.

The following were among the individuals who were granted this imperial title:

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.

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