Camilla Parker Bowles will be crowned queen consort alongside Charles III. An honorary title that Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh did not receive. A peculiarity which can be explained with regard to the law of accession to the throne of the United Kingdom, specifies sky news this Wednesday, October 12.
The wives of the kings of England are queens. The spouses of the sovereigns are not crowned. A customary difference enshrined in UK lawhighlighted sky news this Wednesday, October 12. Thus, Camilla Parker Bowles will be crowned in Westminster Abbey at the same time as Charles III on May 6, 2022. She will therefore be anointed, like her husband, to whom she must pay her respects. An honor that Prince Philip therefore did not receive seventy years earlier. A distinction that becomes clearer with regard to a custom : primogeniture with male preference. Until it was repealed in 2013, elder law governed the order of accession to the British throne. Thus, the first born of a family, even if he had older sisters, was the heir. In other words, if Elizabeth II had had a brother, she would not have been Queen of England.
A rule, which implies thata man can only be king and not a consort.To be at the side of his wife, prince Philip therefore renounced his titles… and his surname. A dispossession intended to preserve the dynastic order and especially its surname . He thus became Prince of England, without the title of consort being officially attributed to him on the day of the coronation of Elizabeth II. Out of love, the latter nevertheless made a concession after thirteen years of marriage. Shortly before the birth of Prince Andrew, their third son, she agreed to have Prince Philip’s name associated with hers. Since 1960, the descendants of the couple who are neither royal highnesses, nor princes or princesses, have been called Moutbatten-Windsor. This is for example the case of Lady Louise and James, Viscount of Severn, the children of Prince Edward, their last born.
In contrast, direct heirs like Prince William and his children bear the name related to their title. Usually referred to as Princes and Princesses of England, they could also be called the Cambridges with reference to the letters patent which were offered to the heir and Kate Middleton for their wedding in 2011. However, since the death of Elizabeth II this Thursday, September 8, 2022, the spouses who became Prince and Princess of Wales use this new surname.
A title that Prince George will shoulder the day where his parents will accede to the throne. In the meantime, like his brother Louis, he should obtain a new title and therefore change his surname when he gets married. Princess Charlotte will probably be named Princess Royalon the death of his aunt, Princess Anne. If she marries, in accordance with usages and customs, she will endorse a priori the name and possible title of her husband.
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