Queen Camilla will ‘speak her mind’ just like Prince Philip

She now wears the crown and has dispensed with the Consort suffix, so the next task for the Queen is to make that title her own in a nation that automatically associates it with Elizabeth II.

It will require a combination of patience and planning for Queen Camilla, and she will need to tread a fine line between staying in the public eye and overexposure.

There is no job description for the consort of a monarch, but the Queen already has a touchstone on whose example she will draw: the late, great Prince Philip.

Those who know her say that like Philip, she will continue to speak her mind, and will not be afraid to express an opinion on important issues of the day.

“The trick for her is not to think that she needs to tone it down,” said one former adviser. “She will have a voice, as she showed recently in her comments to authors following the Roald Dahl controversy, and that follows in the rich tradition of royal consorts.

“The late Prince Philip wasn’t shy in sharing his views, and people will be receptive to it when the Queen does the same, because we as a nation like common sense and plain speaking.”

In February the Queen told authors to “remain true to your calling” after The Telegraph revealed that Dahl’s works were being extensively rewritten by his publisher to remove any words or phrases that might offend a modern audience, such as ugly or fat.

The Queen is a champion of reading and set up her own online book club during the Covid pandemic, and showed with her comments that she is not afraid to risk controversy in order to stand up for causes she believes in.

She was an admirer of Prince Philip for his “just get on with it” attitude to life and for his devotion to duty, including his 70-year role supporting Elizabeth II as queen.

The Queen has never shied away from difficult subjects, including rape and domestic abuse, against which she has spoken passionately on many occasions, and sees the higher profile that comes from her new title and Coronation as an opportunity to do more, rather than a restraint.

Those who have worked closely with her say she is able to step into controversial areas with confidence because her 57 years as a commoner before marrying into the Royal family means she knows what the monarchy looks like from the outside.

She also has a far better grasp than other members of the Royal family of how actions and words will be interpreted through the lens of newspaper and television reports, because she has “an instinct for storytelling”, just as journalists do, and so she knows what reporters are likely to pick up on (for the same reason, she knows how to avoid Prince Philip-style gaffes).

Her advisers are not telling her to make any fundamental changes to the way she operates. She has already had remarkable success in winning over the public, and her image-makers believe the extra media coverage she will receive as a result of her elevation will do the amplifying for her.

For years she and the then Prince of Wales were overshadowed by the stately power of Elizabeth II and the glamour of the young William, Kate and Harry, but that is no longer the case, and more attention will be paid to every utterance they make.

While the King is a known quantity after 70 years as heir, the Queen will be more of a surprise package to people in Britain and around the world, royal aides believe, as she has had far less coverage despite campaigning for 30 years on issues such as osteoporosis.

While she has the same title as Elizabeth II (if not the same constitutional role) one of the most notable departures from the past will be in her attitude towards formality.

Where Elizabeth II was a stickler for formalities, Camilla has a far more relaxed approach to royal life, with a sense of humour that is never far from the surface.

During the Coronation Concert on Sunday evening the King and Queen made an impromptu appearance on the US talent show American Idol. Katy Perry and Lionel Richie, both of whom are judges on the show, had performed at the concert and both are ambassadors for the King’s charities. When they suggested that the King and Queen might like to surprise the US audience by appearing on a live stream to the studio, they immediately said yes.

It was not the sort of unscripted stunt that the late Elizabeth II would have been up for, notwithstanding the Paddington Bear and James Bond skits she recorded for the Platinum Jubilee and the London Olympics, and it showed how comfortable the couple are in setting their own rules.

Likewise, the “mind the gap” message they recorded to welcome passengers arriving at London railway stations over the weekend was an imaginative way of curating their less buttoned-up image.

Contrary to what Prince Harry might think, it is not a calculated move on the part of the Queen, according to those familiar with the workings of Buckingham Palace. It is just that she is practising the advice she gave to those authors, and being true to herself.