Camilla To Be Called Queen? Son Tom Parker-Bowles Weighs In On Royal Title

Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall, has her fate laid out for her as the future queen when she married Prince Charles, the heir to the British throne, in 2005. However, her son, Tom Parker-Bowles, has weighed on the issue of her mother’s title.

Speaking in an interview, Parker-Bowles said it has yet to be decided if his mother will be actually called the “queen” when his step-father, Charles, ascends to the throne. Parker-Bowles is the son of the duchess from her first marriage to Andrew Parker-Bowles.

The duchess’ son further said that he’s aware there are documentaries charting his mother’s future title in the British monarchy. However, he could not verify the accuracy of these documentaries. So, in his mind, it’s still not certain if his mother will become Queen Camilla one day.

Technically, when the heir to the throne becomes the king, his consort becomes the queen. This is what happened when King George VII took over the throne after his older brother, King Edward VIII, abdicated. His wife, Elizabeth, automatically inherited the title of queen and she was also crowned at the same time as the new king. They were formerly known as Their Royal Highnesses Prince Albert and Elizabeth, the Duke and Duchess of York.

When King George and Queen Elizabeth’s daughter, also named Elizabeth, ascended to the throne after King George’s death, the elderly Elizabeth took the title of Queen Mother to avoid any confusion with the monarch. Queen Elizabeth’s husband, Prince Philip, on the other hand, was not given the title as king because the husband of the ruling female monarch may only be referred to as the prince consort, as in the case of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert in the mid-1800s.

However, when Charles married Camilla in 2005, Buckingham Palace released a statement stating that the former Mrs. Parker-Bowles will carry the official title of HRH The Princess Consort when the Prince of Wales becomes the king. Nearly 15 years later, Clarence House also affirmed the palace’s statement saying that there has been no change in the future of the title of the Duchess of Cornwall, amid reports that Charles plans to make his wife the Queen Consort when he takes the crown.

Camilla is also technically the Princess of Wales, the female equivalent of her husband’s current title. However, she has firmly used the Duchess of Cornwall as her official name since the whole world regards Princess Diana, Charles’ first wife, as the Princess of Wales.