Will Camilla become a queen now that Charles is King?

Now that King Charles has succeeded to the throne, his wife Camilla will take on a new title of her own.

If she chooses to adopt it, that title will be Queen Consort.

Queen Elizabeth II expressed a “sincere wish” on the eve of her Platinum Jubilee in February that Camilla take the title when the time came for Charles to assume his role as King of England.

"When, in the fullness of time, my son Charles becomes king, I know you will give him and his wife Camilla the same support that you have given me," said a statement issued by the late monarch on Feb. 5.

"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."

The statement came as the Queen marked 70 years on the throne, and was widely interpreted as an effort by the monarch to ensure a smooth transition for her successor and his wife, and to cement Camilla’s status among the British people.

When Camilla married Charles in 2005, a statement from Clarence House suggested she intended to be known instead as Princess Consort. At the time, the Prince of Wales had struggled for years to redeem his public image following his infidelity during his marriage to Diana, Princess of Wales, and the couple’s subsequent divorce.

In the years since their marriage in 2005, however, the public appears to have softened on Charles and Camilla. And royal commentator Afua Hagan says the Queen’s endorsement of Camilla has sealed her place on the throne beside Charles.

“This is the rubber-stamped seal of approval that resolves the sensitive issue of the Queen finally endorsing Charles and Camilla,” Hagan wrote in a column published on Aug. 30.

“If Queen Elizabeth II has said that Camilla should be Queen Consort, then we can expect most of the British public to accept her in that way. To them, the Queen’s endorsement means everything.”

According to the Royal Family’s website, a queen consort is crowned with the king in “a similar, but simpler” ceremony, unless “decided otherwise.”

A queen or queen regnant, like Queen Elizabeth II, is the Sovereign monarch who reigns over her kingdom with military, and political powers equivalent to a king’s.

A queen consort is the wife of a king. She shares his rank and title, but not his sovereignty or his political or military powers.

- With files from The Associated Press and Afua Hagan