Let’s get it right – Camilla is The Queen

When Queen Elizabeth II died, the following statement was issued, “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.” ¹

Now that Charles is King, Camilla automatically took on the female equivalent of her husband’s rank and status and thus became Queen. As she is not a Queen in her own right, her role is that of Queen consort. In the United Kingdom, a Queen consort is addressed as Her Majesty The Queen. However, for some reason, Buckingham Palace initially insisted on referring to Camilla as “Her Majesty The Queen Consort.” ²

As confirmed when Lady Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon married the then Duke of York, “In accordance with the settled general rule that a wife takes the status of her husband Lady Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon on her marriage has become Her Royal Highness the Duchess of York with the status of a Princess.” ³ Thus, when Camilla married the then Prince of Wales, she became Princess of Wales, Duchess of Cornwall, etc. She chose to use the Duchess of Cornwall title as the Princess of Wales title was still strongly connected to Charles’s first wife, Diana. This doesn’t mean that she wasn’t legally The Princess of Wales. You’ll also note that none of these titles includes the word “Consort.”

While it has been said that including the word consort was meant to avoid confusion with the late Queen, you’ll still find people claiming Camilla is “only” a Queen consort two years later.

So what is with this “Queen Consort Camilla” business? We cannot claim that we don’t know how it’s done. Even after the death of Queen Victoria after a reign of 63 years, Queen Alexandra was only briefly referred to it. Queen Mary and Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother were not, as far as I can tell, referred to as “Her Majesty The Queen Consort”, and if they were, it must have been only briefly. We know Camilla is not a reigning Queen, as there is a King. So, we cannot claim confusion with the previous Queen (regnant).

Queen Elizabeth II herself added to the confusion when she released a statement saying, “It is my sincere wish that, when that time comes, Camilla will be known as Queen Consort as she continues her own loyal service.” ⁴ Do note the “The” missing from there. This clearly indicates that she did not intend for this to be taken as Camilla’s exact title. Camilla was always going to be a Queen consort, as she is the wife of a King and her correct form of address is Her Majesty The Queen.

1. Royal.uk
2. Official website
3. The Duchess Of Windsor by Greg King p.265
4. History of Royal Women