The British Queen has marked her Platinum Jubilee by expressing her “sincere wish” that when Prince Charles becomes king, his wife, Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, should become “Queen Consort”.

This is the second time that the Queen, now 95, has intervened so decisively on behalf of her eldest son.

Back in 2018, when the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting was held in London, its leaders had a meeting behind closed doors at Windsor Castle when the Queen said it was her “sincere wish” that Charles should follow her as head of the organisation. That went through on the nod after India, by far the largest Commonwealth country, signalled its assent. It is widely recognised that Charles has always been very pro-Indian.

To mark the 70th anniversary of her reign on February 6, the Queen issued a detailed message — signed “Your Servant” — to her subjects on Saturday night when she said: “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 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.”

Camilla was not universally popular after the death of Diana, Princess of Wales, in 1997. She has had a long-term relationship with Charles, which began even before she married her first husband, Andrew Parker-Bowles, an army officer, in 1973. The couple had two children, Laura and Tom. They were divorced in 1993 and Camilla married Charles in 2005, when it was made clear she would be known only as “Princess Consort” when her husband succeeded his mother to the throne.

Now, the Queen has settled matters by decreeing Camilla should be Queen Consort.

The difference between a Queen and a Queen Consort is that only a reigning monarch, such as Elizabeth II, can be Queen, while the wife of a reigning king is styled Queen Consort. But in effect she will be styled Queen — and no doubt in time Charles and Camilla, now 73 and 74 respectively, will be received as “King Charles and Queen Camilla” when they visit India, for example.