Camilla Could Take Coronation Oath Alongside Prince Charles And Become Queen, Law Expert Says

People’s perception of Camilla Parker Bowles may have improved since her scandal with Prince Charles more than two decades ago, but surveys show that many are still against her being called Queen when the Prince of Wales takes over. Now a law expert claims that Camilla could take her Coronation Oath alongside Prince Charles to become the next Queen of England.

When Prince Charles and Camilla got married in 2005, their communication team at Clarence House issued a statement maintaining that the Duchess of Cornwall had no intention to use the title Queen Consort. The statement also declared that Camilla would like to use the title “HRH The Princess Consort” when Prince Charles becomes King. However, the Duchess has reportedly changed her mind over the matter.

According to University of Oxford law professor Pavlos Eleftheriadis, Camilla could be crowned Queen Consort and take the Coronation Oath alongside the new King when the time comes. Taking the title of Queen Consort will allow Camilla to better perform her duties as a royal as the full title will give her more authority.

“If for whatever reason — personal or political — they wish to use the title ‘Queen Consort’ for Camilla—so that she could, for example, perform more effective welfare work around the world — the appropriate way of doing so, would be by her taking the Coronation Oath alongside the King, as provided by the 1688 Act,” said Eleftheriadis.

The law expert said the highly symbolic event will give Camilla the moral standing to carry the title “Queen.” “Although not legally necessary, this would enable her to play a more visible symbolic role as Queen Consort for the duration of his reign, but also beyond it,” he said. “To my mind, the most important moment for them will be the moment of the new King’s coronation,” he added.

If Camilla is serious about adopting the title “Queen Consort” when Prince Charles reigns, then that means she’s scrapping the statement she released in 2005, when she said she doesn’t intend to be called Queen in the future. Law experts claim that her communication department only issued that statement because the public was still upset over the death of Princess Diana at the time.