I agree with BeatrixFan - Camilla has, effectively, been made a 'second-class royal'. I think it outrageous and I will never believe that it's inadvertent.
I repeat: I do not blame the gutter-press whose reaction would easily have been predicted, and, I believe, well-known; I do not blame the Diana admirers (and she did many good deeds which I valued - for HIV and Leprosy sufferers, and land-mine victims, particularly) who actually hold only an emotional and not any realistic power; but I do truly blame the advisers and dead-wood courtiers.
If I were of a Machiavellian turn of mind, I'd say that this whole unedifying spectacle has been devious from the beginning.
Camilla is not of the Blood Royal, and by golly, has this been made clear to this admirable woman in the most public and humiliating way. Yes, she has retreated, but she should never have been placed in this insidious position for one moment.
My frustration is exacerbated by the clear knowledge that the Windsors simply are devoid of any appreciation of the ramifications of their decisions. It makes many of us who are their strongest supporters cringe with embarrassment at times. You will see that some time back I criticised this whole exercise on the basis that it would prove too difficult for Camilla and result in an attack on her personal standing and prestige.
Now, what should have happened?
Instead of calling Camilla 'The Duchess of Cornwall', she should have been called Princess of Wales, from the outset. The discussion embracing her style and titles when Charles becomes King should have been stopped immediately with an announcement from the palace that she'll be Queen Camilla, when and if her husband assumes the throne. The Palace's PR machine should have promoted the Duchess as individual who had something special in her own sense to offer the country and the Commonwealth, rather than all the gumpf about her being a 'support' and a 'dutiful wife' and a 'comfort' to Charles.
In sum, my opinion is that the press is not to blame; Diana's 'fans' are not to blame; Diana's sons are not to blame; and politicians are not to blame. The full responsibility of this fiasco rests with ill-informed advisers and courtiers who made Prince Phillip's life a misery when his wife became Queen; who made Diana and Sarah Ferguson's life miserable when they were young, silly women; who have ensured that unsavoury stories about the Countess of Essex' lapses of judgment received full exposure in the past; and, finally, have allowed Camilla, the legitimate Princess of Wales, to be denigrated. Thus, I think it a set-up, with the outcome well anticipated in advance.
I think that one of the few avenues open to us to protest this ugly treatment is to write to HRH The Duchess of Cornwall and let her know that we support her.