October 23, 2022
King Charles reportedly wishes for his wife Camilla to be shown the same mark of respect as his ancestors by having her simply referred to as Queen.
There are speculations and rumours that some royal aides are hoping to quietly drop "Consort" from Queen Camilla’s title to bring her in line with centuries of wives of Kings before her.
The title of ‘Consort’, according to the Telegraph, could be replaced with the simpler address of ‘Queen Camilla’ in time for the King's official coronation on 6 May.
However, at the time of Camilla's marriage to Charles (the then Prince of Wales) in 2005, she was given the title of the Duchess of Cornwall rather than the Princess of Wales as a mark of respect to Diana, Princess of Wales. Buckingham Palace also announced that she would be styled as ‘Princess Consort’ when her husband becomes King.
The title of ‘Queen Consort’ was set out by Queen Elizabeth II for Camilla in February this year as she stated: ‘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'.
All former female consorts in modern history have been referred to as Queen plus their Christian name, including Queen Elizabeth (later the Queen Mother), Queen Mary and Queen Alexandra.
Unlike the wives of kings, over the course of British history, the husband of a Queen has never held the title of King or King Consort. Instead, they can only hold the title of Prince Consort. This has been the case since Victoria’s reign when she created the title for her husband, Albert.
King Charles reportedly wants her wife to be known as Queen Camilla.