In fairytales, the titles given to members of the royal family are always quite simple. The man is the king, the woman is the queen, and their children are princes and princesses. In real life, however, it is not so simple. Royal titles are complex and also not permanent. For example, when Queen Elizabeth passes away, her first-born son Prince Charles will ascend to the throne. His title (which is actually only one of his titles) will change to King. What about his wife Camilla? This is actually quite a lot more controversial. (1)
Prince Charles Wants Camilla To Become Queen, But His Sons Disagree
Famously in recent years, Prince William and his brother Harry have not been getting along. There is one thing, however, that they apparently do agree on. This is that their father Prince Charles’ wife Camilla’s title should not change to Queen when their father eventually takes the throne. (2)
Charles is the Prince of Wales and also the Duke of Cornwall. He has over 11 titles altogether. In his first marriage to Princess Diana, she took the title of Princess of Wales. Camilla, however, never took that one, despite the fact that it was hers to take. Given the controversy over hers and Prince Charles’ relationship, and out of respect to the late Princess, Camilla instead took the lesser title of Duchess of Cornwall.
With the late passing of Prince Philip and the Queen’s advancing age, more and more people are starting to think about what will happen when Queen Elizabeth passes away. Naturally, we know that Charles will become King. It is currently unknown if he will become King Charles, or if he will use one of his other names: Philip, Arthur, or George. Then there is the question of what title Camilla will take. Charles wants her to be the Queen Consort. His sons, however, strongly disagree.
Read: When Diana Was Stripped of Her Royal Titles, 15YO William Promised Her “I Will Give It Back to You One Day When I Am King”
Prince William and Harry Are Not On Board With “Queen Camilla”
When Prince Charles and Camilla married in 2005, there was naturally quite a bit of talk about titles. As already mentioned, for a variety of reasons, Camilla opted to steer clear of the title of Princess, previously held by Diana. The whole situation of Prince Charles and Camilla’s affair is not one that many Britons have been able to forget. The official position of the Royal Family when the two wed was that Camilla would become Princess Consort when Charles becomes King. Up until around October 2017, this was stated on the Royal Family’s website, as well. That, however, has been removed.
The removal may have something to do with Prince Charles’ fight to have Camilla be named Queen Consort when he takes the throne. His two sons, however, do not agree. They do not want Camilla having the title that would have been their mother’s.
What Is Public Opinion?
According to polls, 13% of Britons think that the Royal Family should give Camilla the title of Queen Consort while 41% say Princess Consort is a better fit. However, the remaining 46% say that she shouldn’t have a title at all. Again, this is largely due to the scandal of her and Charles’ relationship. While the public doesn’t technically have a say in royal titles, their opinion does matter to the Royal Family.
Why Did Prince Philip Never Hold The Title Of King
If you’re following along with the “rules” of royal titles, you might be wondering why Prince Philip was never called King Consort. This is because, despite Queen Elizabeth being the sovereign, the title of “King” always out-ranks that of Queen. Call it old-fashioned or misogynistic, but this is hundreds of years of tradition that you’re working against. For this reason, the late prince never took this title so as to not out-rank the Queen. (3)
As of right now, there is no official response as to what title the Royal Family will give to Camilla when Prince Charles becomes king. All we know for now is that Charles continually urges his sons to allow it, but they have refused to budge. To be clear, the relationship between the boys and their stepmother is a warm one. Naturally at the beginning, when the boys lost their mother at just 15 and 12 years old, the transition was tough. These issues have since been resolved.
There have been reports of bitter fights in the family over this upcoming title change. This is especially considering the rumors about the growing animosity between William and Harry. None of it, naturally, is confirmed. We will likely just have to wait until there is some sort of official announcement from Buckingham Palace, which likely won’t happen until Prince Charles ascends the throne. (4)
Keep Reading: Have You Ever Noticed This One Strange Detail in Pictures of Princess Diana and Prince Charles?
Sources
- “Prince Charles Wants Camilla to Be Queen Against the Wishes of His Sons and Subjects.” Newsweek. Jack Royston. November 23, 2021.
- “Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, may not be called ‘Queen’ when Prince Charles takes the throne.” Insider. Darcy Schild. May 1, 2021.
- “Prince William ‘banned aides from briefing media against Royal Family members’” Mirror. Ryan Merrifield. November 23, 2021.
- “‘Terrible fights’ Prince William ‘would blame’ Camilla for ‘hurt she caused’.” Express. Chris Byfield. November 24, 2021.