[ad_1]
Before Charles and Camilla wed in 2005 the Palace insisted she will have the title of Princess Consort instead of Queen Consort.
This was in recognition of public concern about the break-up of Charles’s first marriage to Princess Diana and his adultery with Camilla.
But despite the Royal Household’s assertions, Charles Anson, who worked as the Queen’s press secretary for seven years before leaving Buckingham Palace in 1996, has predicted it will be Queen Camilla.
Privately, some royal aides have always admitted that Charles wanted Camilla to be his Queen. And they hoped the public would slowly warm to his second wife.
As a Deputy Lieutenant in East Sussex, Mr Anson represents the monarch in the county and helps organise royal visits.
He praised the Duchess, 71, as someone who “kind of jollies” her husband and “doesn’t let him get too overburdened by the woes of the world”.
In an interview for a US documentary about the Royal Family, made by People magazine for the ABC channel, the former Buckingham Palace aide, said: “She’s got a good philosophy about life.
“There are things you can change and other things you can’t change – don’t get too hung up about it.
Before Charles and Camilla wed the Palace insisted she will have the title of Princess Consort (Image: GETTY)
“And I think she’ll be a great consort as Queen.”
For 1,000 years the wives of English kings have been known as queen, although a consort holds no constitutional power.
In March royal officials fuelled speculation that they were trying to back out of their original 2005 commitment.
They were found to have deleted all references to the Consort statement from the Clarence House and Buckingham Palace websites.
Several statements were removed, including one from the Duchess’s official biography which said: “It is intended that The Duchess of Cornwall will use the title HRH The Princess Consort when The Prince of Wales accedes to the throne.”
Cynics have pointed out that after Diana’s death, Charles sought to allay public anger over his relationship with Camilla by saying it was his intention never to remarry.
However, in November 2010, in an interview with US channel NBC, Charles was asked if Camilla would be Queen. He replied: “We’ll see, won’t we? That could be.”
And in the same year an eight-year-old girl asked Camilla: “Are you going to be Queen one day?” She replied: “You never know.” Camilla, whose friendliness and sense of fun have endeared her to the royal press pack, has worked hard to support Charles.
Camilla has worked hard to support Charles (Image: GETTY)
Last year she undertook 235 official royal engagements.
But she remains less popular with the British public than many other members of the Royal Family. A Norstat opinion poll for the Sunday Express in August last year found that 67 per cent of the British public did not want Camilla to be Queen. Just 19 per cent believed she was fit for the role.
And a series of TV documentaries last year – in which Princes William and Harry and others discussed Princess Diana to mark the 20th anniversary of her death – were not thought to have helped Camilla’s cause.
SHOULD THE DUCHESS BECOME QUEEN CONSORT?
YES – says Dickie Arbiter Queen’s ex-press secretary
When Prince Charles’s engagement was announced to the then Camilla Parker-Bowles in February 2005, it was made clear that when Charles became king, she would be known as the Princess Consort.
The engagement came eight years after the death of Diana Princess of Wales and animosity towards The Prince and Camilla was still riding high, so the title was a means to please some if not all.
The Duchess of Cornwall, as Camilla became, has shown herself committed to a number of charities.
Camilla, pictured with the Queen, undertook 235 official royal engagements last year (Image: GETTY)
She is a good communicator and has a talent for not only putting people at ease, but talking to people from all sectors of the community.
On walkabouts she’ll chat, laugh, shake lots of hands and when out and about with Charles, both of them will giggle and even crack jokes.
Camilla has been good for Charles and wherever they go together they’ve shown themselves to be a good double act.
She’s provided stability to Charles and to the monarchy, which is why when her husband becomes king, she should take her rightful place beside him as Queen Consort.
Prince Charles and Camilla married in 2005 (Image: GETTY)
NO – says Richard Palmer Royal Correspondent
The Duchess of Cornwall is my favourite member of the Royal Family, but she should not, in my view, become Queen Consort unless there is a huge swing in public opinion.
Like many in the royal press pack, I adore her approach to official duties: the twinkle in the eye, her affable, jolly manner and her desire to work with the media.
But even though she has won us over and many of those she has met, she has not persuaded the British public. She regularly comes near the bottom of royal popularity polls.
Her supporters will say that monarchy is not a popularity contest, but it should represent the best of Britain. King Charles III’s reign would be one built on a lie if he were to renege on the commitment he made in 2005 in an effort to overcome public hostility to the marriage.
A Queen Camilla would also make liars of all those members of the Royal Household who have spent the past 13 years insisting nothing has changed, that she will be Princess Consort.
Besides, some of them have insisted she is not fussed about titles and has no desire to be Queen Consort. So why force her?
[ad_2]
