Queen wants Camilla to be Queen Consort when Charles
becomes king
Monarch expresses ‘sincere wish’ in candid message
marking 70th anniversary of her accession
Caroline
Davies
Sat 5 Feb
2022 22.00 GMT
The Queen
has expressed her “sincere wish” that the Duchess of Cornwall becomes Queen
Consort when Charles becomes king.
In a candid
message marking the 70th anniversary of her accession, the monarch made clear
her desire, unambiguously paving the way for Queen Camilla.
When the
duchess married the Prince of Wales in 2005, it was made clear by Clarence
House that she would carry the title of HRH The Princess Consort.
It has long
been speculated that this was a title of convenience at a time when the duchess
was seen to be less popular in the polls, due to her relationship with Charles
when he was married to Diana, Princess of Wales.
Charles is
understood to have long harboured a firm desire his wife should carry the title
of Queen Consort, and be thus crowned and anointed, when he becomes king.
The Queen
made clear she supported this in a written message released on Saturday before
Sunday’s Accession Day.
In it, the
Queen thanked the nation for the “loyalty and affection” she had received over
her long reign.
She added:
“And when, in the fullness of time, my son Charles becomes King, I know you
will give him and his wife, Camilla, the same support that you have given me;
and it is my sincere wish that, when that time comes, Camilla will be known as
Queen Consort as she continues her own loyal service.”
The Queen
has recently signalled her strong support for Camilla, making the duchess a
Royal Lady of the Most Noble Order of the Garter, in recognition of her
contribution to the monarchy.
Many
observers saw this as a step towards confirming Camilla would be accorded Queen
Consort status.
Senior
royals clearly feel public opinion about Camilla has changed in recent years
with her popularity growing, and that this historic moment in the Queen’s reign
as she marks her platinum jubilee is an appropriate time to end speculation
about Camilla’s future title.
At the time
of her marriage to Charles, many questioned that she could not be styled
Princess Consort and that protocol dictated she would be Queen Camilla in any
event, in the same way the Queen Mother became Queen Elizabeth when she married
George VI.
The Queen,
who will mark the 70th anniversary of her accession in private at Sandringham
on Sunday, said in her message that it was still a day “even after 70 years, I
still remember as much for the death of my father, George VI, as for the start
of my reign.”
She renewed
the pledge she first gave in 1947 “that my life will always be devoted to your
service.”
She also
paid tribute to the Duke of Edinburgh, who died in April aged 99 after being at
her side during 73 years of marriage.
She said:
“I am fortunate to have had the steadfast and loving support of my family.
“I was
blessed that in Prince Philip I had a partner willing to carry out the role of
consort and unselfishly make the sacrifices that go with it.
“It is a
role I saw my own mother perform during my father’s reign.”
She
reflected on the “goodwill shown to me by people of all nationalities, faiths
and ages in this country and around the world over these years.”
“I remain
eternally grateful for, and humbled by, the loyalty and affection that you
continue to give me.”
It is not
the first time the Queen has expressed her “sincere wish” on a delicate matter.
In 2018,
she ensured Charles would succeed her as head of the Commonwealth, after much
debate over who her successor would be.
She voiced
her views the day before top government officials from the 53-nation body met
at Windsor Castle, saying it was her “sincere wish that the Commonwealth will
continue to offer stability and continuity to future generations and will
decide one day the Prince of Wales should carry on the important work started
by my father in 1949”.
Unsurprisingly,
after that declaration, the Commonwealth agreed Charles, who was not a
universally popular choice, should succeed his mother as head.
Camilla
would technically have been Queen when Charles acceded to the throne, and only
legislation would have prevented it.
But royal
aides insisted, when she married Charles in 2005, that Camilla did not want to
be queen and said originally that the former Mrs Parker Bowles “intended” to be
known instead as Princess Consort – the first in British history – instead.
Any mention
of “Princess Consort” was removed from Charles’s website during a revamp in
2018.
Former BBC
royal correspondent Peter Hunt said: “This is the most extraordinary message.
The Queen is ensuring the transition, when it comes, to her son as king is as
seamless and trouble-free as possible.
“She’s
future-proofing an institution she’s served for 70 years. And for Camilla, the
journey from being the third person in a marriage to queen-in-waiting is
complete.”
Women
married to a monarch have historically been crowned Queen Consort.
Such was
the case for the George VI’s wife, Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother, and for
George V’s wife Queen Mary – the Queen’s grandmother.
The exception
was Queen Mary II who, with her husband, King William III, was joint-Sovereign
from 1689 to 1694.
The royal
website used to declare: “A Queen consort is crowned with the King, in a
similar but simpler ceremony.”
But after
Charles’s marriage to Camilla, it added the get-out clause “unless decided
otherwise”.
Queen
Victoria’s husband, Albert, was appointed Prince Consort 17 years after his
marriage. He worked diligently to win the public’s affection after suffering
initial hostility.
Victoria
had wanted him to be King Consort when they married, but the then prime
minister Lord Melbourne ruled it out.
The Duke of
Edinburgh did not hold the title Prince Consort, having rejected the offer in
the early years of the Queen’s reign.
Queen
Consort v Queen Regnant
Camilla may
be destined to be a Queen but not the Queen.
The Queen
is Queen Regnant, a female monarch equivalent in rank and title to a king, who
reigns in her own right. A Queen Consort is the wife of a reigning king.
While a
Queen Regnant possesses and exercises sovereign powers, a Queen Consort – such
as the Queen’s mother, who became Queen Elizabeth when George VI became king –
does not formally share her spouses powers.
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