a woman who holds a crown singly in her own right. The title of queen is also given by way of courtesy, to her who is married to a king, and called by way of distinction queen-consort, the former being termed queen-regent. The widow of a king is also called queen, but with the addition of dowager.

QUEEN CHARLOTTE'S ISLANDS, a group of islands lying in front of that part of the north-western coast of America called New Hanover, between the fiftieth and fiftieth-fourth parallels of north latitude. Cook observed these islands, but supposed that they formed portions of the continental shore. They were discovered by La Pérouse, who named them the Fleurieu Islands, an appellation of which they were unintentionally deprived by Vancouver, who called them after the princess-royal of England. The largest island is of a triangular form, about one hundred and seventy miles in length, and in some parts sixty miles in breadth, and is separated from the main land by a broad channel or arm of the sea. The southern promontory of this island was named Cape Hector by La Pérouse, and Cape St James by Vancouver. The latter navigator coasted along the shore, and found that near the sea the land was moderately elevated, but that towards the interior it rose into rugged and uneven mountains. Of the Indians who inhabit it little is known, and that little is significant of their being pretty low in the scale of intelligence.