Why Can Camilla Parker Bowles Be Queen But Prince Philip Can’t Be King?

Royal titles are definitely very important as the title holds a corresponding glamor, power and importance. However, the rules for titles can be quite confusing because of the amount of law and tradition that surround them.

Some of the more seemingly simple and well-known titles would definitely be that of the queen and king, which basically belong to the reigning monarchs of the family. What becomes a big question is why Prince Philip, as the wife of Queen Elizabeth II, cannot be king when Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, as Prince Charles’ wife, can become queen.

Titles are either obtained upon birth or bestowed by the reigning monarch during marriage. Succession is determined simply by blood, regardless of gender. But for the spouses, gender plays a crucial role in attaining titles.

The gist of it is this: when a male royal marries, his wife attains the female form of his title — which explains why Camilla can become queen once Charles becomes king. When a female royal marries, on the other hand, the husband is actually not eligible for the royal’s title.

When Prince Philip married then Princess Elizabeth, he didn’t automatically become a prince despite marrying into the royal family. When Elizabeth ascended the throne, she bestowed upon Philip the royal title Duke of Edinburgh. A decade after, Queen Elizabeth II gave the duke the royal title Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh.

About the reasoning of this particular titling rule, some royal fans have an answer on Quora. Harry Kriewaldt, a student of European history, said that kings come in fewer “flavours” than queens.

“A Queen can be a Queen Consort (married to a King), a Queen Regnant (reigning in her own right), or a Queen Dowager (the mother of the reigning monarch),” he wrote. “Kings, however, only exist as Kings Regnant (the term isn’t particularly used, since that’s the only state a King can exist in),” he added.

“Therefore, Camilla will be a Queen Consort when Charles succeeds his mother,” Kriewaldt further stated. “Phillip, on the other hand, can’t be a King, since it’s his wife (the Queen Regnant) doing the reigning.”

There has been much speculation whether Camilla will be taking on the title of queen or princess consort. According to some reports, the title of queen will not be used out of respect to Princess Diana, the Princess of Wales. But Charles allegedly insists otherwise.