Photo: Getty
The Duchess has had a lot of names and titles. She was born Camilla Shand and married Andrew Parker Bowles, becoming Camilla Parker Bowles. Then, when she married Prince Charles in 2005, she took on the title the Duchess of Cornwall. The reason she was not known as the Princess of Wales was out of respect for the late Princess Diana.
So now Charles has become King, what is Camilla’s title? The answer is more complex than you might think.
For a number of years, there was some confusion about her future title when the time came for Charles to accede to the throne. According to the Daily Star (per the Sunday Times), it was rumored that Prince Charles would like his wife to be called the queen consort, which is the title usually bestowed upon the wife of the reigning king. But she was initially to be called princess consort, per The Times.
“The intention is for the duchess to be known as princess consort when the prince accedes to the throne,” a spokesperson for the royal couple told The Times in March 2020. “This was announced at the time of the marriage and there has been absolutely no change at all.”
Photo: Getty
That’s true. Before the couple wed in a civil ceremony at Windsor Guildhall, Clarence House announced the creation of this new title. “It is intended that Mrs. Parker Bowles should use the title HRH The Princess Consort when The Prince of Wales accedes to The Throne,” the statement said. At the time, Slate described “princess consort” as a title created to avoid a PR crisis.
“It’s a new title created just for Camilla, because crowning her as queen would create PR problems for the royals,” columnist Daniel Engber wrote in February 2005. “A marriage between divorcees like Charles and Camilla remains taboo for some members of the Church of England, and Camilla is already unpopular for breaking up the prince’s marriage to Diana.”
However, during her Platinum Jubilee in June 2022, Queen Elizabeth said she would prefer for Camilla to be called queen consort after all.
At the time, a Clarence House spokesman said the Prince of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall were “touched and honored”.
Indeed, In the announcement of the passing of Queen Elizabeth on September 8, 2022, the royal family’s official Twitter account referred to Charles and Camilla as The King and The Queen Consort.
The Queen died peacefully at Balmoral this afternoon.
The King and The Queen Consort will remain at Balmoral this evening and will return to London tomorrow. pic.twitter.com/VfxpXro22W
— The Royal Family (@RoyalFamily) September 8, 2022
Originally published in Glamour.com
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