Queen Elizabeth II’s death today sets in motion her son Charles’ ascension to the throne, and together with her death, Charles’ wife, Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, is now the Queen Consort.
The royal family acknowledged the shift in its temporary statement on the Queen’s death, saying that “the King and The Queen Consort will remain at Balmoral this evening and can return to London tomorrow.”
But because socially conservative British social mores were dropped at bear on Charles and Camilla’s relationship, her becoming Queen Consort was for years the source of serious speculation. The couple had an affair while each were married—Charles to Princess Diana, who famously said, “There have been three of us on this marriage,” and Camilla to her first husband, Andrew Parker Bowles—together with the incontrovertible fact that Camilla then being a divorced woman still carried a social stigma. The couple married in 2005.
But in February 2022, the Queen put an end to any lingering uncertainly during celebrations round her seventieth yr of rule, saying it was her “sincere wish” that Camilla grow to be Queen Consort as Charles becomes King. It’s all a bit confusing—but let’s break it down.
What is the difference between the Queen and the Queen Consort?
The reigning monarch’s wife is traditionally generally known as the Queen Consort, while the Queen (technically the “Queen Regnant”) refers to a lady who has ascended the throne through the pre-established familial line of succession and has sovereign power. Because Queen Elizabeth II ascended when her father, King George VI died in 1952, she is a Queen, whereas Camilla is becoming Queen Consort by marriage.
What’s Camilla’s recent title?
She has now been established because the Queen Consort, but colloquially, Camilla will likely be known as just Queen Camilla. After King George’s death, his wife, Elizabeth, became generally known as The Queen Mother, mostly to avoid the confusion of dueling Queen Elizabeths.
