Right now, Camilla has a title that was almost impossible to imagine back in the ‘80s and ‘90s: Queen. Well, “Queen Consort,” which is a fancy way of saying that even though she’s the queen, it’s her husband who’s calling the shots in England. Back in the day, Camilla was the other woman who effectively destroyed the marriage between then-Prince Charles and Princess Diana. After Diana’s tragic death, Camilla and Charles dated more openly, eventually tying the knot in 2005. When Queen Elizabeth passed away, Charles became the King, officially making Camilla Queen Consort.
That leads to a natural, somewhat morbid question: what happens to Camilla when Charles dies? It’s not like she suddenly becomes reigning monarch or anything…that honor falls to Prince William, who will become the new King. Where will that leave Camilla? What will her new title be, and will she get kicked out of the Royal Family? Keep reading to find out!
An instant change in status for Queen Camilla
When King Charles dies, it will result in an immediate change in status for Camilla. That’s because William will immediately assume the throne and take over as the new King of England. It’s a common misbelief that he will have to wait until he is coronated; the Royal Family simply schedules the coronation event long after the funeral for the deceased monarch. This is basically a courtesy, ensuring that neither the joyful event (a coronation) nor the tragic event (a funeral) threatens to overshadow the other.
Camilla’s current title, “Queen Consort,” is strictly a function of her marriage to Charles, the reigning King. Once he dies, William will immediately become King and his wife, Kate Middleton, will become the new Queen Consort. Where does that leave Camila, then? While she will no longer be sitting next to the reigning monarch, she will have a new title within the Royal Family: Queen Dowager.
RELATED: Why Camilla Parker Bowles Will Never Be Queen
Camilla’s new title and its surprising meaning
So, when King Charles is gone, Camilla will start going by the title of “Queen Dowager.” What does that mean, exactly? Basically, it’s a title traditionally given to the widow of a king. Like many titles in the Royal Family, this term is meant to convey both courtesy and hierarchy. Courtesy, because the “Queem” part underscores Camilla’s former title. Hierarchy, though, because the “Dowager” part ensures she won’t be confused with a reigning monarch (like Elizabeth) or the current wife of a king (which would be Kate).
How does the new title change Camilla’s life? By itself, it doesn’t. Professionally, she’ll no longer be by the king’s side, and she’ll no longer have the Queen Consort title. But she’ll still be a member of the Royal Family, one whose thoughts and opinions will still be valued by others. And she will likely continue to make appearances at various official functions. One thing’s for sure: we’ll likely see her at far more royal events than we’ll see Prince Harry or Meghan Markle!
Will Camilla get kicked out of her home?
The other juicy question, of course, is where Camilla will live after Charles dies. Once the King passes away, are the royals going to kick her out of her current home? The honest answer to that is “maybe, but almost certainly not.” One of the quirks of the Royal Family is that you are given access to certain famous homes, and that access can be taken away. For example, Queen Elizabeth gave Harry and Meghan Frogmore Cottage as a cute place to live and raise their family. After those rebellious royals stepped down from most of their official responsibilities and began living in America, though, King Charles took the home back, officially evicting his son and daughter-in-law.
Right now, both Charles and Camilla live in Clarence House. When Charles passes away, will that home be taken away from her? The answer (and more on this in a minute) is that this will be up to William. Once he is the reigning King, he would be fully within his rights to kick Camilla out. Realistically, though, this usually happens as a kind of reprimand: Charles wanted to punish Harry and Meghan for fleeing the Royal Family, just as he clearly wanted to punish Andrew (whom he evicted earlier this year) for the man’s connections to Jeffrey Epstein.
So far, Camilla has done nothing worth kicking her out for, so she’ll likely stay in Clarence House.
RELATED: The Truth About Prince William’s Weird Relationship With The Queen
Her fate is in the hands of Prince William
As you can tell, some of the specific details about Camilla’s fate after Charles passes are a little fuzzy. That’s because so much of it (ranging from what her responsibilities will be to where she lives) will be up to William. Once he is King, he gets to have the final word on just about everything, including Camilla’s exact place in the Royal Family.
With that being said, though, it doesn’t seem like she has much to fear. William didn’t always like Camilla because she drove a wedge between Charles and Diana, William’s mother. At the same time, she has been married to Charles for over two decades, giving William plenty of time to get to know her. While they aren’t exactly best friends, William seems to have a very cordial relationship with his mother-in-law. Ultimately, there’s no reason to think that will change, even after Charles is gone.