Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall, Part II

[TampaBay]

(there is of course the possibility that she or Charles might predecease the present Queen in any case when the point will be rather moot)

I have always felt that the above is actually what will happen.  If King Charles does comes to the throne with Queen Camilla then his rein will no doubt be of a short duration.

TampaBay

[Grace]

I think a few years ago i might have been more upset at the idea of her being crowned - to be honest i am not that bothered about it now.  I've seen her on a couple of public occassions and she actually appears rather nice - not the high glamour of Diana - but i don't believe she deserves the appalling press she's had. 

We don't have morganatic marriages in the UK thank goodness - and if she's good enough to be his wife then in my view she's good enough to be Queen Consort.  Apart from the most passionate fans of the late Diana I don't think people will be that bothered either way.  I find the compromise the Palace and Charles invented rather silly - legally she is HRH The Princess of Wales and in time legally she will HM Queen Camilla.  The idea of a Princess Consort is daft - what rank does it give her - will she still be first lady of the land (in which case she might as well be Queen) would she outrank her future step daughter in law etc - what happens on a state visit or banquet when Foreign Royals arrive is she required to curtsey to Europe's future and present Queens Regnant and Consort.  Silly and confusing and a sop to those people who hold her responsible for Diana's misery when the only persons to blame for their marriage collapsing are Charles and Diana themselves. 

(there is of course the possibility that she or Charles might predecease the present Queen in any case when the point will be rather moot)

I don't want to start up all the old arguments again but I have to disagree on a couple of points here:  of course Camilla holds some responsibility for the collapse of the marriage of Charles and Diana - she was the "other woman" for years!  Also, the notion that die-hard Diana 'fans' are the only ones who oppose the crowning of Camilla as Queen of England is simply wrong.  It's the way in which she eventually came to be Charles' wife - which we all know about - that upsets many traditionalists. 

[Robert_Hall]

Quite right, Grace. There is no such title "Queen of England"
 
 Also, Charles  is not "king" until he is proclaimed, he does not inherit the throne as  king. And, it is King of the  United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland [for now]

[Grace]

There is no such title "Queen of England"
 
Also, Charles  is not "king" until he is proclaimed, he does not inherit the throne as  king. And, it is King of the  United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland [for now]

Yes, of course you're right.  Bearing the title of queen as the consort of her husband once he accedes the throne and is proclaimed king is what I meant.

[Eric_Lowe]

Alas I can forsee problems with Charles as king. A defender of "faiths"...maybe he will invite the Dali Lama to his coronation and swear on ALL the holy books. Camilla can come out in a sari laden with jewels...I hope the Queen would reign for a long long time. She was the last "safe pair of hands". I am not saying Charles would be a bad king, but I oppose to change at this point.

[Michael HR]

nilI have to agree with this. The thought of Queen Camilla is not something most of British people want. Charles would also need the consent of the British people, the Commonwealth, the Church and so on. I am not at all sure he will get that. The Queen may live as long as her dear Mother and in fact could out live Charles. William is perhaps the best hope for the future?

Alas I can forsee problems with Charles as king. A defender of "faiths"...maybe he will invite the Dali Lama to his coronation and swear on ALL the holy books. Camilla can come out in a sari laden with jewels...I hope the Queen would reign for a long long time. She was the last "safe pair of hands". I am not saying Charles would be a bad king, but I oppose to change at this point.

[Eric_Lowe]

I think he will get his coronation more easily if Camilla is not crowned but by proclaimed "Princess Consort" (Like Countess Danner was the morganic wife of King Frederick VII of Dernmark). That is not difficult since Queen Marie Antoinette, Queen Henrietta Maria or Catherine of Braganza wasn't crowned with her husband as well.

[Robert_Hall]

Camilla does not appear particularly excited at the thought of being a consort any more than any of my British friends want her to. Personally, I do not care one way or the other.  Who knows ? There may not even be a coronation for Charles. Like everyone else here, I hope the present  monarch reigns for a long, long time.  I would not be surprised if I read that Camilla feels the same way.
 Grace, I knew what you meant, I was just teasing the discussion along.

[mcdnab]

Well most polling (however much you can rely on it) suggests that opinion is shifting slightly in her favour - around the time of the marriage less than 10% favoured her being Queen - i think from memory that has now pushed up to around 25 to 30 %.   ANother five or ten years will probably see an even bigger shift.

My main objection to the idea of a Princess Consort is not out of any great fondness for either of them but I do not like the idea that the wife of the future King is to be the only woman in the UK not entitled to bear her husbands style and titles based largely on the fact that she's divorced and had an affair.   Arguably it smacks of the ultimate hypocracy that we're happy (and most are still happy) to crown Charles (a man who is also divorced and has also confessed to having had an affair) but not crown his wife or allow her to be called Queen on those grounds.

I don't believe it sets good precedent does that mean for the rest of time if the Press decides that a Royal Bride isn't up to the mark it the Palace will be forced to back down and we get yet another Princess Consort? 

Its consistantly stated that it was her wish for this to be her style and title on his accession however i am a bit of an old fashioned traditionalist when it comes to these things - and i don't like it....i could understand it more if the Queen Consort had any official constitutional role that Camilla wanted to avoid but in the British system she doesn't

Incidentaly - Charles automatically inherits on his mother's death unless he was removed from the succession before her death.  You can't have a death in the crown - the business of tying it up legally is done at the accession council where the monarch would make the oath regarding the church or Scotland (usually the oath regarding preserving the protestant succession is done at the first opening of parliament following the accession)

[Norbert]

There will be a coronation and HRH has indicated that he will style himself King George VII. I know many US citizens are very keen on the romance of Diana Spencer but most British subjects have recognised in this modern world things must change. I don't believe that Camilla will become Queen as they publicly declared that she would be "Princess Consort". A silly idea, he will be King and we would prefer to see his wife crowned beside him in Westminster Abbey  as is her right.

[halen]

Hi Norbert. Where did you get the information that Charles will style himself George VII. I've never heard that before and would be very interested in reading information regarding that.

Louise

[Grace]

I don't believe that Camilla will become Queen as they publicly declared that she would be "Princess Consort". A silly idea, he will be King and we would prefer to see his wife crowned beside him in Westminster Abbey  as is her right.

Just who are "we", please, Norbert?  You seem to speak for a lot of people here!

[Norbert]

WE who must be obayed ;-)

[Norbert]

....and can't spell for toffee, groan

[mcdnab]

Its long been rumoured and considered that in tribute to his grandparents he would opt to be George VII rather than Charles III - i don't think it will make a great deal of difference in the great scheme of things.