The Queen Is Dead is the third studio album by English rock band The Smiths. Released on 16 June 1986 in the United Kingdom by Rough Trade Records, and on 23 June 1986 in the US by Sire Records, it spent 22 weeks on the UK Albums Chart, peaking at number two. It also reached No. 70 on the US Billboard 200, and was certified Gold by the RIAA in late 1990. In 2020, Rolling Stone ranked The Queen Is Dead 113th on Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. In its 2013 list, the NME named The Queen Is Dead the greatest album of all time.
 
Guitarist Johnny Marr wrote the music for several songs that appeared on The Queen Is Dead while the Smiths toured Britain in early 1985, working out arrangements with bassist Andy Rourke and drummer Mike Joyce during soundchecks. The title of the album is from Hubert Selby Jr.'s 1964 novel Last Exit to Brooklyn. The cover art features French actor Alain Delon in the 1964 film L’Insoumis. The album was produced by Morrissey and Marr, working predominantly with engineer Stephen Street, who had engineered the band's 1985 album Meat Is Murder.