CAMILLA, DUCHESS OF CORNWALL THE UNWANTED QUEEN-TO-BE
PRINCE CHARLES THE KING IN THE WINGS
THE successor to Diana, the People’s Princess, was always going to have a tough time of it – and even after more than 12 years as Charles’ clearly adored wife, the prospect of a “Queen Camilla” still sets Britons’ teeth on edge.
For a while it seemed as if the ice might be thawing but documentaries and exposés released this year to mark the 20th anniversary of Diana’s
HE’S been raised from birth to be king. But as his elderly mother showed no signs of slowing down even after almost seven decades on the throne, Charles (69) looked as though he might just escape the dubious honour.
In fact there were whispers the queen might choose to bypass Charles completely in favour of his crowd-pleasing eldest son, William.
And by all accounts the idea might not have been abhorrent to the Prince of Wales.
Royal author Penny Junor – who recently penned The Duchess: The Untold Story, about Camilla and Charles’ romance – said the prince was in no rush to take over the reins.
“I don’t think Charles is itching to get his hands on his mother’s duties,” she said. “He has a very full life already.
“He really enjoys what he does. When he becomes king he can’t be so hands-on [when it comes to the activities he enjoys].”
But the prince, now pushing 70 himself, might not get off that lightly.
The queen, according to Junor, is being “more and more realistic about what it is she can do”.
According to reports, a plan to name Charles king is already in motion – it’s
Sdeath appear to have sent Camilla (70) right back to square one in the public eye. Most damning was Channel 4’s doccie, Diana: In Her Own Words, in which an audibly bitter Diana divulged the sordid details of Charles and Camilla’s affair. In fact, a recent survey revealed more than two-thirds of Brits think the Duchess of Cornwall is unfit to be their queen. According to tradition, the wives of British kings become queen consorts but the husbands called “Plan Regency” and involves legislation called the Regency Act. The 1937 Act declares that “in the event of the incapacity of the sovereign” full power is granted to the heir apparent.
“I’ve spoken to a number of high-ranking courtiers who made it clear that preparations for a transition are moving ahead at pace,” says Robert Jobson, royal commentator for Britain’s Daily Mail newspaper.
“They’ve all confirmed that a regency with Charles taking the lead is now, at the very least, a real possibility.”
Jobson quotes a former senior member of the royal household as saying that the queen was the one driving the plan.
“Her Majesty would want to make sure she’s done everything she can for her country and her people before she hands over. She’s dutiful to her core.
“Her Majesty is mindful of her age and wants to make sure that when the time comes the transition of the crown is seamless.” GEORGE WHO? If Charles becomes king he might take another name. One of the favourites is believed to be George VII, a nod to his grandfather. of sovereign queens don’t have the right to a title – which is why Philip is known as the Duke of Edinburgh. Recognising there might be public outcry when he married Camilla back in 2005, Charles was quick to insist she’d be known as Princess Consort if he becomes king.
But royal columnist Michael Thornton isn’t convinced. “This was yet another attempt at damage limitation, undermined when it was officially confirmed that whoever marries the king becomes ipso facto the queen.
“Many people recoil from the prospect of a woman who broke her own marriage vows and then assisted her next husband to break his being crowned and anointed in Westminster Abbey as ‘a great example of virtue and piety, and a blessing to the kingdom’.” Ouch.
67% of Britons don’t think Camilla would make a good queen