Feb
10
2005

princess consort

One of the big stories of the day is the announcement that Britain’s Prince Charles is going to marry longtime girlfriend Camilla Parker Bowles in April. (BBC News: “Prince Charles to marry Camilla” - 02/10/05) It also was quickly announced that Camilla’s title would be “Her Royal Highness the Duchess of Cornwall” rather than “Princess of Wales.” And should Prince Charles become king, Camilla’s title would be “princess consort” rather than “queen.”

“Princess consort” — what a horrible, skeevy title, implying (to me at least) something more along the lines of “official mistress to the king.” Then again, perhaps it’s slyly appropriate, given Charles and Camilla’s tawdry history together.

Posted at 1:01 PM in current events, language

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Comments

Camilla may become queen after all, despite earlier statements that her new title might be “princess consort.” By British law, if Prince Charles becomes king, she automatically would become queen.

While the British public has come around to supporting the marriage, opinion polls still show strong opposition to Parker Bowles taking the title of queen.

But any attempt to change the rules to bow to popular sentiment would be exceedingly difficult: It would require not only a new law in Britain, but also legislative changes in 15 nations of the Commonwealth…

On Monday, Constitutional Affairs Minister Christopher Leslie said in a written statement responding to a lawmaker’s question that the royal marriage would not be “morganatic” — in which the spouse of inferior status has no claim to the status of the other.

“This is absolutely unequivocal that she automatically becomes queen when he becomes king,” said Andrew Mackinlay, the lawmaker who raised the question.

The Department for Constitutional Affairs confirmed that interpretation, saying legislation would be required to deny Parker Bowles the title of queen.

(Associated Press: “Queen Camilla? The British Say It’s Possible After All” - 03/22/05)

Posted by alykat on March 22, 2005 9:36 AM

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