Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, may not be called 'Queen' when Prince Charles takes the throne
- When the Queen dies or steps down, Prince Charles is next in line to the throne.
- It's still unclear if Camilla will be known as "Queen," her son, Tom Parker-Bowles, told The Times.
- In 2005, Buckingham Palace said Camilla's future title would be Princess consort.
After the Queen dies or steps down from the British throne, Prince Charles is next in line to the crown.
It's likely that his wife, Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, would be his consort - but according to Camilla's son, Tom Parker-Bowles, it's not yet clear if she'll be known as "Queen."
"I honestly don't know if Mum will be called 'Queen.' That hasn't been decided. There are a lot of interesting Sky documentaries about that I'm sure but I honestly don't know if that's true," Parker-Bowles told The Times' Michael Odell in an article published Thursday.
Questions about Camilla's title swirled around the royal family when she and Prince Charles announced their engagement in 2005.
According to an article from The Guardian announcing the couple's engagement in 2005, Buckingham Palace said in a statement that Camilla Duchess of Cornwall would be known as "Princess consort" - not "Queen" - when Prince Charles accedes the throne.
According to Town & Country, at one point, the official website for the Prince of Wales and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall also addressed Camilla's potential future title in the "FAQ" section of its site.
The answer has since been deleted, but according to Town & Country, it read: "As was explained at the time of their wedding in April 2005, it is intended that The Duchess will be known as HRH The Princess Consort when The Prince of Wales Accedes to The Throne."
When Prince Charles becomes King, it's possible that he could grant Camilla the position of Queen consort. If so, Camilla would be crowned with him "in a similar but simpler ceremony," according to the royal family's coronation traditions.
Recent speculation about the title that Camilla could potentially hold comes after Prince Philip's death on April 9. Prince Philip's death doesn't change the royal line of succession - after the Queen, next in line is Prince Charles, then Prince William.
Prince Philip, a consort to the Queen, was never known as "King consort." He instead went by "Prince consort" to avoid outranking the Queen's position. This is because despite being sovereign, the Queen's title is traditionally considered lower in rank than a king, Insider's royals reporter Mikhaila Friel previously wrote.
The title of a queen can also be symbolic - it can mean either a "female monarch" or "wife of the monarch," while a king can only ever describe a reigning monarch, according to Mental Floss' Ellen Gutoskey.
When Prince Charles and Camilla got married in April 2005, there was also speculation about whether or not Camilla would take the title of the Princess of Wales, the name given to the late Princess Diana.
Instead, the Queen gifted Camilla the title of the Duchess of Cornwall.
Representatives for Clarence House could not immediately be reached for comment at the time of writing.