The new queen consort: What to know about Camilla, Charles’s wife

09/09/2022

3 minutes read

2022.09.09 07:00

Queen Elizabeth II’s eldest son Charles, 73, is now King Charles III after his mother, the longest-reigning monarch in British history, died in Scotland on Thursday.

He inherits the sovereign title and role as head of the Commonwealth, as well as other assets such as land and religious duties. While the wife of a king usually assumes the title of queen, this has not been a given to his second wife, Camilla. The pair married in 2005.

At the time of the couple’s marriage, it was announced that she would not be known as queen when he became monarch, but as “princess consort” — at a time when British public sentiment toward her was more frosty.

But in a statement marking the 70th anniversary of her accession to the throne earlier this year, Queen Elizabeth II announced that she wanted Camilla to be known as “queen consort” when Charles became king.

Press Enter to skip to end of carouselQueen Elizabeth IIBritain’s longest-reigning monarch Queen Elizabeth II died September 8 at age 96. Follow our live coverage as the U.K. mourns and the new king, Charles III, delivers his first address to the nation.The queen ruled for more than 70 years, in 2015 surpassing the record set by her great-great-grandmother Victoria. She was famous for her sense of duty and took part in hundreds of public engagements a year.What does the royal line of succession look like today and who will take her place? Charles, as the queen’s eldest son, inherits the sovereign title and job as head of the Commonwealth, along with other assets such as land and property.

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The intervention cleared up a question that had lingered since they married. Without it, Camilla, previously known as the Duchess of Cornwall, could have been the first British queen not to be officially called a queen.

“And when, 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 times comes, Camilla will be known as Queen Consort as she continues her own loyal service,” Queen Elizabeth II said in her February statement as she planned beyond her reign.

Charles, who had stepped in to take on more royal duties as the monarch’s health deteriorated, thanked his mother and said he was “deeply conscious of the honour” for his “darling” wife.

On Thursday, in a statement announcing Elizabeth’s death, Buckingham Palace said: “The King and The Queen Consort will remain at Balmoral this evening and will return to London tomorrow,” formalizing her public title.

When Charles married Camilla Parker Bowles, just about 7 percent of Britons thought she should become queen. It was nearly nine years after his divorce from Princess Diana and nearly eight years after her death.

Like Princess Diana, some Britons blamed Camilla for the breakdown of her marriage to Prince Charles. “There were three of us in this marriage, so it was a bit crowded,” Diana famously said in a 1995 interview.

Although she didn’t have the same kind of star power as Diana, Camilla sought to improve her image after she became a royal. She has become patron to dozens of charities and has advocated against domestic violence, among other causes.

In a 2010 interview, when he was asked whether his wife would become queen, Charles responded: “That’s well … we’ll see, won’t we? That could be.”

Adela Suliman contributed to this report.