On Feb. 5, Queen Elizabeth II declared Camilla Duchess of Cornwall as Queen Consort. For those who are unaware of the monarchy system, a ‘Queen Consort’ is an individual who is the wife of a monarch, giving the couple the official title of “King and Queen,” according to The Telegraph. Hence, after Queen Elizabeth II passes and her son, Prince Charles, takes the role as King, Camilla will also take the role as the Queen. Prior to this announcement, many believed that she would receive princess consort as Charles became King. However, Queen Elizabeth II had other plans and decided to put her trust in Duchess Camilla as Queen. This decision does not go without controversy.
Camilla and Charles, Prince of Wales, were married in 2005. However, they married after the very public divorce between Charles and the now deceased Princess of Wales, Diana. The affair between Camilla and Charles, while he was married to Diana, became publicly known, causing much dislike towards Camilla for being “the other woman.” Princess Diana was very popular in her time, and her death was a devastating event for the world in 1997. Despite the fact that it has been over 15 years since Camilla and Charles got married, hard feelings still exist today. For instance, in season four of The Crown, the historical fiction/drama show goes into detail about the affair as stated by Time. Furthermore, even when Camilla and Charles were married, Camilla remained “Duchess of Cornwall” instead of taking the title of “Princess of Wales” out of respect for Diana.
This isn’t the first scandal that the royal family has faced, especially recently. Prince Andrew is currently facing sexual assault allegations after his involvement with Jeffery Epstein. As of Feb. 15, he agreed to settle one such sexual abuse lawsuit with Virginia Giuffre. CNN states that these allegations have led to Buckingham Palace deciding to take away his military titles. Furthermore, Meghan Markle and Prince Harry have stepped back from the royal family after revealing concerns within the royal family about their child, Archie’s, skin color in an Oprah interview. CNN reported that the royal family claimed that they do not tolerate racism, however, the scandal still exists, and some still seem to believe that the family may hold racist ideologies. Moreover, Queen Elizabeth II’s age is becoming concerning for much of the English population. A decision about the future of the monarchy seems urgent, as pointed out by NBC News, in Queen Elizabeth’s announcement regarding Camilla during her Platinum Jubilee (70th anniversary on the throne). Some royal historians speculate that this news was dropped to distract from other family news.
On Feb. 5, Queen Elizabeth II made the statement, “I remain eternally grateful for, and humbled by, the loyalty and affection that you continue to give me 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 time comes, Camilla will be known as Queen Consort as she continues her own loyal service.” Thus, Camilla will take on the role of the monarch’s wife, Prince Charles. However, she will not hold the same duties as Queen Elizabeth II, as she is a Queen Regnant. According to Us Weekly, Prince Charles made a statement that he is “over the moon” about the news.
In other news, Prince Charles and Camilla have both tested positive for COVID-19 as of Feb. 10 according to ABC News. This is the second infection for Prince Charles, his first being back in March of 2020. It was confirmed that Camilla and Charles were fully vaccinated and had their boosters. The Queen was supposedly being closely monitored after the scare and is still asymptomatic. However, she was seen recently at an in-person meeting. The palace made the statement that she will “be resuming her normal duties of audiences, credentials and privy council meetings continuing to mix both virtual and in-person events,” as stated by People. The world is eager to see what is next for the royal family.
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