Charles 'fails to see funny side' of Camilla's cheeky nickname

16 January 2024 , 10:42

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King Charles with his wife Queen Camilla (Image: Getty Images)

King Charles 'failed to see the funny side' of Camilla's cheeky nickname given to her before she became Queen, according to a new book.

It is believed that Camilla's family dubbed her Lorraine, a play on the French word for Queen - La Reine - which is said to have amused the then-Duchess of Cornwall. But it did not go down so well with her husband, who was then Prince of Wales. The debate over what Camilla's royal title would be when Charles became King spanned nearly two decades and intensified after the pair finally married in Windsor in 2005 and in the late Queen's latter years.

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Royal writer Robert Hardman, in his new biography, Charles III, said a friend of Camilla's told him of the nickname Lorraine: "She always saw the funny side of that – even if Prince Charles did not."

Before Charles and Camilla's wedding in 2005, royal aides said Camilla did not want to be Queen and 'intended', when the time came, to be known as Princess Consort instead, a title which has never been used before in British history, even though legally she would still have been the Queen.

Elizabeth II delivered a masterstroke in February 2022 when she publicly endorsed her daughter-in-law as Queen Consort in her Platinum Jubilee message to the nation. She said: "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. 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."

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Buckingham Palace began using the Queen instead of 'Queen Consort' on the day of the Coronation. Mr Hardman also says it took Camilla some time to adjust to her new role and realise that mentions of 'Her Majesty' were referring to her.

The writer also described the King as having the potential to get "very cross about quite minor things" but that Camilla is a "strong voice of common sense in that regard". Camilla's sister Annabel Elliot tells the author: "Obviously, she takes her role very seriously, but we were brought up not to be centre-stage and whatever. So I think that is very much part of what makes her what she is.'

"To this day, Annabel finds it near impossible to follow certain aspects of royal etiquette. 'I find it very hard to curtsey to her,' she says. 'And call her 'Your Majesty'? That I can't do'."

Jennifer Newton