Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother

1900 – 2002

Elizabeth Angela Marguerite Bowes-Lyon was Queen of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions from 1936 to 1952 as the wife of King George VI, and was the last Empress of India. Throughout her widowhood she was a vocal defender of the late British Empire and an ardent supporter of apartheid-era South Africa and Rhodesia, hosting their leaders and resisting calls for sanctions. Her decades of warm public reception made her a key figure in rehabilitating the institutional reputation of the monarchy and the empire it represented in postwar British memory.

Last checked: May 10, 2026, 1:06 PM