Camilla on first public duty since Queen backed her to be crowned

The Duchess of Cornwall (second left), Patron of St. John's Foundation, during a visit to Bath-based charity VOICES. Picture: PA.

By Laura Elston and Rod Minchin, PA

The Duchess of Cornwall has carried out her first public engagement since the Queen paved the way for her to be Queen Camilla.

Camilla, who will now be crowned alongside the Prince of Wales when he becomes king, toured Roundhill Primary School in Bath on Tuesday.

It was the first time the 74-year-old duchess had been out and about on royal duty since the Queen’s major intervention.

The Queen used her Platinum Jubilee message at the weekend to express her “sincere wish” that her daughter-in-law would one day be the Queen Consort, ending years of controversy and uncertainty over Camilla’s future title.

But Roundhill’s headteacher, Sue Adams, admitted the development was lost on the younger pupils she met, who get confused over royal titles.

Asked afterwards whether the pupils understood the significance of the Queen’s announcement, Mrs Adams said: “I think some of the older children do.

“It would be lost on our younger children, I think, and they do get sometimes confused by the titles of different people, but it’s part of our work.”

She added: “We always watch Newsround and we try and keep the children up to date.

“(As) Part of their reading diet we have The Week news magazine, so we try and help them to keep up to date with what’s going on, in not only our country but in the wider world.”

Asked whether Camilla’s visit was “even more exciting” because of the announcement, Mrs Adams replied: “Absolutely, definitely.”

Flag-waving pupils gathered outside to give Camilla a regal welcome, with the school walls and gates adorned with festive Union flag bunting.

As she arrived, the smiling duchess stopped to chat and wave to the youngsters leaning over the low blue school gates.

Waving at one, she remarked: “Hi. What’s your name? Nice to see you.”

The duchess planted a silver birch tree for the Queen’s Green Canopy and unveiled a plaque to mark her visit.

She also dropped in on Laurel Class pupils during a maths lesson, but admitted the subject was not her favourite.

After watching a performance of We Are Proud of Our School, a new song the children learned for her visit, Camilla said: “Thank you to you all for asking me to come to your lovely school.

“It’s a real treat to come here and it’s always a pleasure to come back to Bath, which is my home city.

“I have been so impressed by everything I have seen, and I never have enough time to see all that there is to see.

“I loved listening to you, I loved seeing your library and watching you do your numeracy – I didn’t understand a word of it.

“One day I hope I shall be back again when I’m even older than I am now and to see that tree looking a bit bigger.”

Mrs Adams said afterwards: “She wasn’t quite sure about the maths lesson – she said that wasn’t her favourite subject.

“But it was really good to be able to show her some of the practical strategies that the staff are using to help them to engage with maths.”

Camilla also joined three-year-olds in a Language for Life class in the Sunbeam’s early years room, chatted to youngsters making fruit smoothies, and visited a reading group.

The wife of a king automatically becomes a queen consort and only a change in legislation would prevent her from doing so.

But when the former Mrs Parker Bowles married Charles 17 years ago, aides insisted she did not want to be Queen and “intended” to be known as Princess Consort instead.

Camilla was blamed for the breakdown of the prince’s marriage to Diana, Princess of Wales.

But in the decades after the divorce, the untimely death of Diana in 1997 and Camilla’s acceptance into The Firm, the public mood towards the duchess has softened, and she has gradually taken on a more prominent position within the royal family.

Camilla is patron of St John’s Foundation, a local Bath charity which launched a plan in 2020 to equip children with the skills and level of education needed to thrive in their transition into secondary school.