Elizabeth II: Camilla shall be called Queen after my death
Created: 2/6/2022Updated: 2/6/2022 2:27 AM
According to the Queen, Duchess Camilla should one day become queen alongside the heir to the throne, Prince Charles.
(Archive image) © Chris Jackson/PA Wire/dpa
The British Queen reigns for 70 years.
This will not be celebrated until June - but on the anniversary of her accession to the throne, the queen still has a surprise in store for her people.
Sandringham/London - According to Queen Elizabeth II, Duchess Camilla should one day bear the title of Queen alongside the heir to the throne, Prince Charles.
"It is my sincere wish that when the time comes, Camilla will be known as the 'Queen Consort,'" the monarch wrote in a statement released by the palace on Saturday, the eve of her 70th jubilee.
Prince Charles and his wife Camilla said they were "touched and honored" by the Queen's gesture, according to the PA news agency.
That the wives of kings are crowned as "Queen Consort" is actually the rule.
This was also the case with the mother and grandmother of the current Queen.
However, in the case of Camilla, who was blamed for breaking up Prince Charles and Princess Diana decades ago, the issue has long been moot.
Camilla would have become legally queen anyway
Around Charles' and Camilla's wedding 17 years ago, there was a heated public debate about whether Camilla should one day bear the title or not.
According to insiders, Camilla herself has long planned to call herself "Princess Consort" when her husband succeeds to the throne.
According to experts, Camilla - still known today by her official title as the Duchess of Cornwall - would have become the legal queen anyway.
Unless a corresponding change in the law were introduced to prevent that.
With her public statement, however, Queen Elizabeth II has now finally ended this debate and taken Camilla's acceptance in the British royal family to a new level.
In recent years, Camilla has become increasingly popular with the British people and has established herself as a prominent member of the royal family.
The 74-year-old is considered approachable in public appearances, down-to-earth and humorous.
Queen wants to serve people until her death
In her statement on her 70th anniversary on the throne, the 95-year-old monarch renewed her pledge to serve her people for the rest of her life.
"It gives me joy to renew the promise I made in 1947 that my life would always be dedicated to service," she wrote.
For decades, the declaration made by the Queen in 1947, before the start of her reign, has been taken as a promise that she would not abdicate before the end of her life.
The then princess said in a speech: "I declare that my whole life, be it short or long, should be devoted to service."
70 years on the throne
The Queen celebrates her 70th anniversary on the throne on Sunday.
It is the first anniversary of her accession to the throne, which the 95-year-old Queen has to celebrate without her husband Prince Philip, who died last year.
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Elizabeth's father George VI
died February 6, 1952, making his eldest daughter Queen.
No monarch before her has held the throne of the United Kingdom longer than Elizabeth II. The Queen is celebrating her anniversary at the country estate of Sandringham in East England.
There shouldn't be a big celebration until the beginning of June.
dpa