Regency Reader Questions: Two Dowagers

Thank you for the question, Liz, and for being a Regency Reader!

I want to give the immediate disclaimer that I am no expert in titles and fumble over this frequently, so I am always happy to be corrected in the comments.

This is a great question and one I did a bit of digging to understand, as it certainly would have occurred a time or two in the past.

Typically, in the case of more than one dowager duchess, only one would use it in their title. The standard convention would be for the oldest (or first) widow to be The Dowager Duchess/Viscountess/Etc of X and the second widow to use her first name in the title, dropping The Dowager (example, Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire). The important thing to note in this instance is that there would need to be a new Duke and Duchess; the last Duchess would remain so in title until a new Duke was in place and married. In other words, in our example that would be three Ladies of x.

So:

1. The Dowager Title of X (oldest)
2. Name, Title of X (2nd widow)
3. Title of X (married to alive peer)

According to some sources, the original dowager in our example would have dibs on the Dower House, and the second dowager would either have to be accommodated in the main house or find another place to let.

Some of this is down to preference, most modern Dowagers using the second styling rather than calling themselves Dowager as the name has negative connotations to some. Generally, the etiquette and preference would be for the second dowager to stick to the formula of first name, title.

Source: Dowager Peeresses (chinet.com) (This site has a wealth of info about the peerage)

Jane Austen’s World has a lovely and thorough post on dowagers: Dowagers and Widows in 19th C. England | Jane Austen’s World (janeaustensworld.com)

I hope this was helpful information!  Thanks for the great question, Liz!

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