Why Camilla will never be Queen

For many years after their 2005 wedding, Prince Charles gave the impression that he fully intended his wife Camilla to eventually sit on the throne as Queen of England.

However, it appears he has since retreated from that position. On the 'Frequently Asked Questions' page of the prince's official website, there is one query whose answer seems particularly revealing.

"Will The Duchess become Queen when The Prince becomes King?"

The response is unequivocal.

"As was explained at the time of their wedding in April 2005, it is intended that The Duchess will be known as HRH The Princess Consort when The Prince of Wales accedes to The Throne.”

But how likely is it that Charles will ever be king? At 68, if he took the throne now he would be by far the oldest English monarch ever crowned.

Queen Elizabeth, while showing no signs of abdication at 90, has nonetheless begun to streamline her schedule in a kind of soft handover of duties.

However there is little chance that the mother-in-law who once referred to Camilla as "that wicked woman" and said she looked "rather used" would ever give her blessing to her ascending the throne.

For a start, palace insiders say, Elizabeth – whose own mother lived until 102 – has every intention of outliving the formerly chain-smoking Duchess.

"She'd actually like the idea of reaching 100," a former lady-in-waiting told the Daily Mail.

It's also been rumoured Camilla wasn’t always a fan of Kate Middleton.

According to author Christopher Anderson, who wrote the book William and Kate: A Royal Love Story, Camilla may have been behind Prince William’s decision to dump Kate back in 2007.

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Many may have been predicting a royal wedding at the time, however Anderson claims Camilla planted the seed in Charles’ head to urge his son to break away from Kate.

At the time, Kate and Wills were spending an increasing amount of time apart.

William was stationed at a barracks outside London and Kate was pursuing a fashion career, with both of them being photographed many times out on the tiles without the other.

Kate was being hounded by photographers, with William pleading for her privacy in a statement released through Kensington Palace.

“Ms Middleton should, like any other private individual be able to go about her everyday business without this kind of intrusion. The situation is proving unbearable for all those concerned,” the statement read.

Indeed it seems things got too much for the lovebirds as in March 2007 they had parted ways.

At the time it was thought it was due to William’s unwillingness to commit to a relationship, however now it’s been claimed that Charles’ second wife, Camilla, may have orchestrated the whole thing.

According to Anderson, Camilla was furious that Kate was “sucking up all the attention” at a time when she was trying to win over the public.

Anderson claims Camilla thought Kate wasn’t worthy enough to be welcomed into the royal family.

In his book, Game of Crowns, he wrote: “Kate is the first working-class woman to be accepted into the Royal Family.

“She is descended from coal miners and her mother was a flight attendant.

“So for all those reasons Camilla never really felt that Kate Middleton as an individual and the Middleton family as a whole were going to be worthy of entering into the Royal Family.

“I was told at the time of the breakup, and later on as well, that Camilla basically whispered in Charles’s ear that it was really time to make—to force—William to make a decision one way or the other.“

However her alleged plan didn’t work and things soon smoothed out between Wills and Kate, with the pair reuniting in June that year and marrying four years later.

Now, they are the darlings of the royal world and Camilla seems to have jumped onboard with their fairytale romance.

Speaking to the Daily Mail, Camilla's son, Tom Parker-Bowles, claimed the pair now share a very close bond.

“They get on fine”, he said.

“I don't think there's any truth to [the rumours of tension].

“Well, I can't guarantee for sure, but I think that's all bulls**t.”

Prince William's relationship with Camilla. hasn't been all smooth sailing either.

Insiders say he and Harry were unable to forgive the heartbreak their mother had suffered at Camilla's hands.

"I think they found it hard." a palace insider told Penny Junor, author of Prince William: Born to be King.

"I remember Harry being uncomfortable and saying something awkward. It was difficult for them; it was a natural thing. You want your mum — you don't want 'her'."

The insider went on, "She was the 'other woman' and she was there and taking daddy's time. It wasn't all happy families."

It comes after news broke that Charles and Camilla may be headed for a divorce.

The couple, who married in April 2005, are believed to be in talks with Kensington Palace's lawyers over the state of their marriage.

According to New Idea, the Queen is "devastated" by the news and is desperately working to get them back together.

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