Queen Consort Camilla Breaks From Centuries Of Royal Tradition By Dropping Ladies-In-Waiting

Dec 05, 2022 by apost team

Camilla, Queen Consort of the United Kingdom, is one of the most controversial figures to join the British royal family. Before marrying King Charles III on April 9, 2005, King Charles III and Camilla first met in 1970 at a polo match. While many assumed Charles would propose to Camilla, in 1973 the then-25-year-old Camilla wed British Army officer Andrew Parker Bowles.

Throughout the course of their first marriages – King Charles III to Princess Diana and Camilla to Parker Bowles – the pair continued their romantic connection discreetly. The public blamed Camilla for the devastating end of Princess Diana and King Charles III's marriage in 1996. The British tabloids often referred to Camilla as the "third person" in Diana and Charles' marriage. She was once even regarded as the "most hated woman in Britain."

Then tragedy struck when Princess Diana passed away in a car accident in 1997. Following this, Charles and Camilla began officially seeing each other just two years later. Because of Diana's untimely passing, Charles did not want to overwhelm his family with the sudden inclusion of a new spouse. Harry and William were still minors when their mother passed, and Charles decided that it would be best to wait until they were adults to get married to Camilla. 

Camilla and Charles finally did get married in 2005, and the small, intimate ceremony was attended by his children as well as the late Queen Elizabeth and the late Prince Philip. 

Camilla has been a loyal partner to Charles and has taken on her royal duties with grace and enthusiasm. Despite the controversy surrounding Camilla and Charles's marriage, both have nothing to offer to each other but love. Their pairing has been quite atypical of the royal family and their penchant for departing from tradition and norms appears to be continuing.

Upon King Charles III and Camilla's engagement in February 2005, a statement from the palace was released in which questions about Camilla's status and title as future queen were addressed. 

The statement announcing their marriage confirmed Camilla would use the title "HRH The Duchess of Cornwall." It also clarified that since Charles was next in line to the throne after Queen Elizabeth II, it was "intended that Mrs. Parker Bowles should use the title HRH The Princess Consort when The Prince of Wales accedes to The Throne."

Harper's Bazaar noted that Camilla actually had the opportunity to pick up the title "Princess of Wales," but since the beloved, late Diana was bestowed that title, Camilla avoided it. 

When the palace announced the date of King Charles’s coronation, it also stated Camilla would be crowned. Later reports suggested that “Consort” could be dropped from Camilla’s title in time for the coronation, should there be sufficient public favor for simply “Queen Camilla” to be used. 

Reports have also surfaced of King Charles wanting to streamline the monarchy to mirror modern times. In line with this, he has chosen to slim down the guest list and duration of his coronation. Breaking from the royal norm is not new to Charles. He broke with tradition several times in his youth, attending school instead of being privately tutored, as was the norm. He also became the first royal to earn a university degree at Trinity College, Cambridge. 

Now, it seems Camilla will be carrying on the trend by dropping the royal tradition of having ladies-in-waiting. Ladies-in-waiting, have been a staple of British royalty since the Middle Ages and refer to those serving monarchs by accompanying them, attending to minor needs and helping with correspondence.  

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According to the BBC, Camilla will dispense with the tradition of having ladies-in-waiting and instead be attended to by the “Queen’s companions.” Apart from the name, the updated positions will see the companions burdened with fewer duties than previously, such as not having to deal with correspondence or administrative affairs at all. They will also have no role in the day-to-day planning of the queen consort’s activities. Camilla will also only have six of these assistants, who may support her at formal events. The Times tweeted an explanation behind the move: 

“The Queen Consort did not want or need ladies-in-waiting and the Queen’s companions will have a different role. They are there to provide support and company. At the end of a very busy day, it is nice to have a longstanding friend beside you.”

Camilla’s companions will comprise her longstanding friends, the Marchioness of Lansdowne, Jane von Westenholz, Lady Katharine Brooke, Sarah Troughton, Lady Sarah Keswick and Baroness Chisholm of Owlpen, a former Conservative whip and Cabinet Office spokeswoman in the House of Lords. In a new role created by Camilla among the companions, Baroness Chisholm will serve as a “life peer.”

As it was upon being appointed a lady-in-waiting, the new companions will receive no salary but will have their expenses covered by the palace. Camilla also named Major Ollie Plunket as her first equerry. Equerries act as a personal attendant to a royal, and Plunket will work with Camilla’s personal secretary and look after her diary, accompany her at events and support her in engagements and relationships with the military.

Meanwhile, Queen Elizabeth II’s former ladies-in-waiting will be retained in the royal household but will be referred to as “ladies of the household” from now on.

What do you think of Camilla’s break from tradition? How do you think she is faring so far as Queen Consort? Let us know, and be sure to pass this on to family and friends, as well as all the royal watchers you know.