Elizabeth II has used her Platinum Jubilee message to back the Duchess of Cornwall Camilla as Queen, shaping the future of the monarchy on her historic milestone.
In the hugely significant intervention, the 95-year-old sovereign expressed her ‘sincere wish’ that Duchess of Cornwall Camilla, who began an affair with Charles when he was still married to Princess Diana, will be known as Queen Consort when her husband becomes King.
Experts branded the message ‘extraordinary’ and said it showed the Queen’s determination to future-proof a monarchy she has spent the last 70 years serving.
The Queen, using the rarest of Jubilees to put her affairs in order on a public platform, also shared her succession support for her eldest son.
She said in the written message: ‘I would like to express my thanks to you all for your support. I remain eternally grateful for, and humbled by, the loyalty and affection that you continue to give me.
‘And when, in the fullness of time, my son Charles becomes King, I know you will give him and his wife Duchess of Cornwall Camilla the same support that you have given me; and it is my sincere wish that, when that time comes, Camilla will be known as Queen Consort as she continues her own loyal service.’
Charles and Camilla were ‘touched and honoured’ by the Queen’s gesture, Clarence House said.
The prince will make his own public declaration on Sunday celebrating his mother’s Jubilee.
Duchess of Cornwall Camilla would technically have been Queen when Charles acceded to the throne, and only legislation would have prevented it.
But royal aides insisted, when she married Charles in 2005, that Camilla did not want to be Queen and said originally that the former Mrs Parker Bowles ‘intended’ to be known as Princess Consort – the first in British history – instead.
But the careful use of the verb ‘to intend’ left this open to change in the future.
Any mention of ‘Princess Consort’ was removed from Charles’s website during a revamp in 2018.
Much has changed in the years since Charles, who aides once said had no intention of remarrying, wed his long term love.
Camilla’s public image has been transformed after she was initially cast as the third person in the Prince and Princess of Wales’ marriage.
Many blamed her for the breakdown of the prince’s marriage to Diana, Princess of Wales, and when news of their affair first came to light, she faced vitriolic criticism.
But in the decades after the Waleses’ divorce, the untimely tragic death of Diana and Camilla’s acceptance into The Firm, the public mood towards her softened.
Underneath, those closest to her say she is a down-to-earth Sussex girl who grew up with a love of horses and happened to fall for a prince.
During the 17 years she has been married to Charles, the duchess has grown into her role and is now an assured royal host when staging events at Clarence House and a confident representative of the Queen when invited to foreign lands.
She is patron or supporter of a number of literacy charities, speaks out in support of victims of domestic violence and champions several animal welfare organisations.
But her most significant role is supporting the prince and being the comforting presence at home that enables him to take on the role of heir to the throne.
With the Queen setting out her wishes and calling for people to support Charles and Duchess of Cornwall Camilla, the duchess will undoubtedly be crowned alongside the prince at his coronation when the time comes.
Former BBC royal correspondent Peter Hunt said: ‘This is the most extraordinary message. The Queen is ensuring the transition, when it comes, to her son as king is as seamless and trouble free as possible.
‘She’s future proofing an institution she’s served for seventy years. And for Camilla, the journey from being the third person in a marriage to queen-in-waiting, is complete.’
Meanwhile Royal author Penny Junor said the endorsement was the ‘perfect’ way for the Queen to mark her Platinum Jubilee.
She said that the monarch was being realistic by setting out plans for the next royal age and her approval for the duchess would lead to the public accepting Camilla being one day known as Queen.
‘It had been suggested to me in the past the only way the public would find it acceptable for Camilla to be Queen was for the Queen herself to make it clear this is what she wanted,’ she said.
Ms Junor said Camilla deserved the Queen’s blessing for her historic future role.
‘She’s been loyal, discreet and works her socks off with her charities and supports the prince,’ the writer said.
‘She’s taken to this job at a relatively late age and she’s been extraordinary.’
Asked how Camilla would be as Queen, Ms Junor said: ‘She will bring warmth. She’s fun and friendly and she has a twinkle in her eye.
‘She makes people feel good for having met her.’
The Queen also renewed her lifelong pledge of duty in her Platinum Jubilee message to the nation.
‘As we mark this anniversary, it gives me pleasure to renew to you the pledge I gave in 1947 that my life will always be devoted to your service,’ she said.
She also paid tribute to her late husband the Duke of Edinburgh for the sacrifices he made as consort as she thanked her family for their support.
The Queen wrote: ‘I am fortunate to have had the steadfast and loving support of my family. I was blessed that in Prince Philip I had a partner willing to carry out the role of consort and unselfishly make the sacrifices that go with it.
‘It is a role I saw my own mother perform during my father’s reign.’