Camilla will be queen

Camilla Parker Bowles will automatically become queen when Charles is crowned king.

The Government confirmed this afternoon that she will be called Queen Consort.

The title was revealed exclusively in the Evening Standard earlier this month but was played down officially at the time because of public hostility to the move.

The only way she could be barred from being crowned alongside Charles and addressed as "your majesty" is if the law is changed in Parliament and in 17 countries throughout the Commonwealth. Government sources indicated this was highly unlikely.

Confirmation of her royal status was revealed in a Parliamentary reply today to an MP who queried the status of the marriage.

Andrew Mackinlay had asked whether the marriage would be " morganatic" - a term which means Camilla would not get equal status to Charles. Constitution minister Chris Leslie replied: "No". Mr Mackinlay said: "This is absolutely unequivocal that she automatically becomes queen when he becomes king."

When asked by the Evening Standard today if Charles's wife would be queen, a spokesman for the Department of Constitutional Affairs said: "That's correct."

Mr Mackinlay said that the government reply was a "bombshell".

He added: "The royals knew she would become Queen but they wanted people to think that she wouldn't. Now the truth is finally out."

The move is bound to fuel a backlash as recent opinion polls have shown the public is overwhelmingly against her becoming Queen.

Mr Mackinlay also said the Government may fear that asking parliaments in countries such as Canada, New Zealand and Australia for special legislation may stir up republican sentiments.

Today's news comes after claims made by Clarence House at the time of the couple's engagement that Camilla was to be known only as HRH Princess Consort when Charles becomes king. In a bid to defuse public opposition, officials also said at the time that it was "intended" that she would be known as HRH the Duchess of Cornwall rather than Princess of Wales.

A Clarence House spokesman said today: "Our advice is that should the Duchess of Cornwall choose to be Princess Consort once the Prince of Wales becomes King, she can. This is because the title Queen Consort is by convention not by statute."

The couple are to marry on 8 April in a register office at Windsor Guildhall which was today spruced up for the big day.

Historically, the wife of the king automatically becomes queen, although the formal title is Queen Consort. Every wife of a king has been known as Queen Consort except Mary II, who was joint sovereign with William III. She was queen in her own right and they reigned together from 1689 to 1694.

Since 1821, every queen has been crowned and anointed with the king at a coronation ceremony. Given the Government's ruling on the constitutional issue, it appears that Mrs Parker Bowles will be crowned queen once her husband takes the throne.

In discussions with Charles before the wedding announcement, the Queen gave the go-ahead for Camilla to be styled "Her Royal Highness". It will make her the second most senior royal woman after the Queen herself.