The British royal family is approaching a celebratory family gathering — and no, this time it isn’t another million-dollar royal wedding, but the coronation of King Charles III, who after the death of his mother, the late Queen Elizabeth II, is to be officially crowned with the title of King.
The United Kingdom will be blessed with its first King after nearly 70 years after the reign of the late Queen’s father, King George VI. But amidst the glory, delight, and excitement permeating the country right now, there is a lingering question concerning Camilla Parker Bowles.
That is, what position will she possibly hold after the upcoming event? Most significantly, will she be accorded the title of a Queen? As per the rules of the British royal family, the title of a Queen is bestowed upon the wife of a King, and this custom was stringently maintained up till the time the late Queen Elizabeth II took over the throne.
The question of Camilla’s title particularly becomes a subject of discussion here primarily because of a longstanding deluge of criticisms, backlashes, and accusations (she still faces of breaking up Charles and Diana’s marriage) reportedly propelled her to refuse the title of a future Queen.
Yes, given the gravity of the royal scandal, it was decided that Camilla would retain her role as HRH Duchess of Cornwall, even as her husband assumes the throne. To put this commitment into writing, the couple issued a statement after their marriage in 2005 that Camilla will keep keeping the title of Princess Consort.
Apparently, this decision was taken out of respect for the late Diana, Princess of Wales, with whom Camilla shared a bad history, incurring the wrath of the people whose love for Diana was (and has continued to be) as deep as their dismissive attitude towards Camilla. As the royal expert, Marlene Koenig told Town & Country in an interview on this subject,
“Camilla was not popular or well liked, [although] this has changed a lot since the marriage as Camilla has taken on a lot of patronages and Charles is a lot happier. Still, [there was] a lot of tension and anger among a certain element of the population—so it was decided that Camilla would be styled as the Duchess of Cornwall, even though, of course, she is the Princess of Wales.”
With a coronation on its way intensifying the speculations about whether the royal couple will keep their word, the news broke out that the former Duchess of Cornwall will be bestowed with the title of Queen Consort after all, in keeping with norms of the British monarchy and till the coronation is over, she will be holding the position of the Queen Consort.
A source closer to the royal family told The Times about how this very title appropriately fits the family’s generational customs adding,
“It made sense to refer to Her Majesty as the Queen Consort in the early months of His Majesty’s reign, to distinguish from Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. It made sense to refer to Her Majesty as the Queen Consort in the early months of His Majesty’s reign, to distinguish from Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.”
All rules and regulations aside, millions of people are looking forward to the future king and queen and how they plan to uphold the ideals of the British monarchy.
The royal coronation will be held on May 6, 2023.
Published: May 1, 2023 12:46 pm