Queen Elizabeth II left the entire nation scandalised when she announced that it was her wish for Camilla to be known as the Queen Consort. During an engagement in February this year, she said:
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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.
Planned wish
While the news may have been shocking for the world, it’s allegedly believed that Queen Elizabeth II had an ‘unspoken’ deal with Charles. According to Royal author Christopher Andersen, after the Queen decided to ‘dip into her personal pocket’ to pay for Prince Andrew’s sex abuse settlement, it was set in stone that Camilla would become the Queen Consort.
Since Queen Elizabeth’s personal wealth would’ve been inherited by Charles on his accession, it was the ‘money that would’ve come to him eventually.’ Andersen argues that King Charles could have objected to the settlement, but instead he took it as an opportunity to ‘endorse Camilla as a Queen Consort,’ reported Cosmopolitan. Andersen alleges:
In a kind of an unspoken implicit deal, this was the trade-off. And that announcement was made…it was very abrupt, you may recall, it was something [that took] everybody, by surprise…she was so against Camilla ever becoming queen for decades and decades, that it, it was a complete about-face, [and] that I think [it] shocked a lot of people.
Change of plans
The Palace has strongly denied these claims and referred to them as ‘nonsense, unsourced and categorically untrue.’ However, Camilla becoming a Queen Consort marked a significant change of plans for Charles and Camilla. When the couple got married in 2005, they issued a statement that confirmed that Camilla would be known as ‘HRH the Princess Consort,’ when King Charles ascended to the throne.
And it remained so until March 2020 when the couple’s representative confirmed there was ‘no change at all’ in the title for Camilla.
Source Used
Cosmopolitan: Author Alleges That King Charles and Queen Elizabeth Had an "Unspoken" Deal to Name Camilla "Queen Consort"
