Here on this blog, I think we referred to “Queen Consort Camilla” a handful of times before we dropped “Consort” completely. Some of that is simply a space issue, especially for headlines, it’s easier and faster to write “Queen Camilla” than whatever gaudy half-measure title the palace dreamed up as a placeholder. Plus, everyone could see the writing on the wall: Queen Consort Cam would be phased into “Queen Camilla” in no time. And that’s exactly what will happen officially:

Buckingham Palace is set officially to describe Camilla as ‘Queen’, rather than ‘Queen Consort’. The change is likely to come after King Charles’s coronation in May, according to well-placed sources. It will set the seal on a remarkable transformation for Camilla in the nation’s affections.

When she married the then Prince of Wales in 2005, it was widely assumed she would never be called Queen when he acceded to the throne. That was because of her longstanding relationship with Charles while he was married to Diana, who famously said in her Panorama interview: ‘There were three of us in this marriage, so it was a bit crowded.’ But Camilla has won around the public, and the late Queen’s intervention in February last year when she called for her daughter-in-law to be known as ‘Queen Consort’ is seen as a crucial show of support.

Now Buckingham Palace is set to go further, according to insiders. The first sign of the new approach came last week when Camilla launched the ‘Queen’s Reading Room’ – without the ‘Consort’ – when she updated the name of her charity, the Duchess of Cornwall’s Reading Room. It is thought that the Court Circular – the official register of Royal engagements – may also soon reflect the change.

A well-placed source said: ‘There’s a view in the Palace that Queen Consort is cumbersome and it might be simpler for Camilla to be known just as the Queen when the time is right. The Reading Room was a sign of that. Her Majesty is the Queen after all. Prince Philip was Prince Consort officially, but he wasn’t known as Prince Consort. The Queen would of course still be Queen Consort so the Palace of course wouldn’t stop anyone calling Her Majesty that if they so chose.’

[From The Daily Mail]

This was always what Charles wanted and he basically just wore everyone down. It’s not that Camilla is suddenly some beloved figure in the UK, and it’s not like the vast majority of Britons forgot that she’s a homewrecking side-chick who actively tried to destroy Princess Diana. It’s just that no one cares about this heifer’s title at this point. Let Queen Sidepiece have her title, she’ll probably be the last consort.

Meanwhile, William and Kate’s titles have now been formalized too:

Prince William and Kate Middleton’s titles as the Prince and Princess of Wales are now official. Just one day after the Sept. 8, 2022, death of Queen Elizabeth II, King Charles III gave his first speech as the United Kingdom’s monarch. In the televised broadcast, the new sovereign announced that his son Prince William would be the new Prince of Wales and his daughter-in-law Kate would become the Princess of Wales.

However, the royal titles only became official this month, when the Letters Patent passed the Great Seal of the Realm on Feb. 13. The full notice from the Crown Office was printed in The Gazette on Friday.

The announcement read in full: “In accordance with the direction of HIS MAJESTY THE KING Letters Patent have passed the Great Seal of the Realm, dated the 13th February 2023 for creating His Royal Highness Prince William Arthur Philip Louis, Duke of Cornwall Rothesay and Cambridge, Earl of Carrick and Strathearn, Baron of Renfrew, Baron Carrickfergus, K.G., K.T., Lord of the Isles and Prince and Great Steward of Scotland, PRINCE OF WALES and EARL OF CHESTER.”

[From People]

I forgot how many gaudy titles came along with the PoW title. Plus, they got to keep their Cambridge and Strathearn titles. Anyway, Charles issued a Letters Patent about Peg, but still no Letters Patent about Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet, huh? Oh well.

Photos courtesy of Cover Images, Backgrid, Buckingham Palace.