Queen breaking a French vase (3)
I believe the answer is:
urn
'vase' is the definition.
(both can mean a container)
'queen breaking a french' is the wordplay.
'queen' becomes 'r' (abbreviation for regina, e.g. in ER ).
'breaking' means one lot of letters goes inside another.
'a french' becomes 'un' ('a' in French).
'r' put into 'un' is 'URN'.
(Other definitions for urn that I've seen before include "Vase-shaped vessel" , "One carrying coffee or tea" , "A ceremonial vase as for human ashes" , "Ossuary" , "Tea vessel or ash container" .)