The Duchess of Cornwall is ‘being lined up to carry out duties on behalf of the Queen,’ royal sources have claimed.
Camilla Parker Bowles, 74, is thought to be the ideal candidate to step in for Queen Elizabeth II, 95, who has been ordered by doctors to rest and recuperate for the next two weeks, The Sun reported.
The 95-year-old oldest and the longest-serving monarch has been recovering from an undisclosed illness, which forced her to skip royal engagements including the 26th United Nations Climate Change Conference, known as COP26.
“Following advice to rest, The Queen has been undertaking light duties at Windsor Castle,” Buckingham Palace said in a statement. “Her Majesty has regretfully decided that she will no longer travel to Glasgow to attend the Evening Reception of COP26 on Monday, 1st November.”
Officially, Princes Charles, 72, Andrew, 61, William, 39, and Harry, 37, are the four royals nominated as Counsellors of State and expected to cover if the Queen is unable to work.
It is worth noting that Prince Andrew is currently fighting sex claims while Prince Harry has already moved to the United States with his wife Meghan Markle, 40, and kids, making them unavailable to step on the Queen’s behalf.
Instead, royal sources said that the courtiers reckon that Camilla could be the ideal stand-in for the Queen, especially after she won praise for her speech calling for more urgent action on addressing violence against women.
“The Counsellors of State are a Plan B,” Dr Craig Prescott, a constitutional expert at Bangor University, said. “But what happens when Plan B isn’t quite ideal?”
“The Queen may look to add the Duchess of Cornwall, who would become a Counsellor of State when Charles is king anyway,” Prescott added.
At the time of this writing, Buckingham Palace would not comment on the reports.
Meanwhile, Queen Elizabeth II spent yesterday at Windsor Castle where she “worshipped at home” with a vicar instead of physically going to church.