Princes William and Harry Are "Sick" of Prince Charles Campaigning for Camilla to Have "Full Queen Status"
She is supposed to become Princess consort.
When Prince Charles ascends to the throne, the current plan is for his wife, Camilla Parker-Bowles, to become Princess consort.
However, there have long been rumors that the heir apparent wants her to become Queen consort instead—rumors that royal biographer Robert Lacey has recently corroborated. What's more, apparently Prince Charles' two sons, William and Harry, are tired of their dad campaigning for Parker-Bowles to be given this higher honor.
"Privately I discovered both brothers are absolutely sick to the back teeth of Charles trying to negotiate full Queen status for Camilla," Lacey told Newsweek.
Although the wife of a king of the United Kingdom is typically afforded the title of Queen consort, there are PR issues surrounding the Waleses' marriage that mean it felt like a more prudent choice to reserve the title of Princess for Parker-Bowles for when her husband becomes King.
Namely, these PR issues are that both Charles and Camilla are divorced, and that they were having an affair with each other while they were both married to their former spouses. Prince Charles' first wife, Princess Diana, of course remains a beloved and tragic figure after her untimely death in 1997.
This is also why, although Parker-Bowles is actually Princess of Wales, she goes by the title of Duchess of Cornwall instead—out of respect for the late Diana, and because the British public is likely to prefer it that way.
Newsweek also quotes a YouGov poll that shows only 13 percent of people in the U.K. would want Camilla to be Queen consort, compared to 41 percent wanting her to be Princess consort.
Royal biographer Penny Junor, on the other hand, is all for Camilla being named Queen. "I think she should be Queen," she said. "There's no reason on earth why she shouldn't be. They were both divorcees and the past was unfortunate. It happened. All over the world people divorce, they make mistakes and they divorce.
"She's been married to him 16 years. She has been a superb duchess. She has slowly, slowly worked her way into the role. There's no sense that she's in competition with him. She's put her name to some very brave causes."
Another case of wait-and-see.
