Mrs. Camilla Parker Bowles

[jam4u]

Why is she still reffered to Mrs. Camilla Parker Bowles?? She is divorced...

[RevShirls]

This is the correct or traditional form of address for a divorced woman. Nowadays many woman do revert to their maiden name and get rid of the Mrs but proper etiquette still indicates that the divorced wife of an untitiled gentleman should be referred to as Mrs.

A guide to proper etiquette and forms of address can be seen on the Debrett's website:

http://www.debretts.co.uk/etiquette/correct_forms_of_address.html

Scroll down to Divorced Ladies and you will see the correct forms of address.

[Gef]

Camilla Parker Bowles and Prince Charles hits it through the covers.

[Dark Angel]

Yes - divorced women can still go as Mrs., however it did sound odd when Prince Charles made the statement that he was going to marry Mrs. Parker Bowles! He could have called her Camilla.

[davidvh]

It may be etiquette for the lady to be addressed as �Mrs.� (I don�t know who decided it was) but in my view, if the lady is divorced, she should cease all uses of her previous husbands name. I bet she would if the man were a convicted criminal or had some other dubious past. It also perhaps sounds more �up-market� or socially acceptable, to hold onto a doubled barrelled name? Miss Jane Smith would hardly �do� would it?

[Garriq]

She is not "still" called Mrs CPB. .She would only become that when her husband had died or divorced, to differentiate her from a second wife. When she was married she was Mrs Andrew Parker Bowles. By the same usage the Queen�s cousin was HRH Princess Alexandra, the Honourable Mrs Angus Ogilvy, (and later the Honourable Lady Ogilvy). She remained a Princess, but also had her married name and �the Hon� because he was the younger son of an earl.

[Garriq]

Davidvh your logic about husbands name is flawed. My wife and I have been married almost as long as we were single. She has had �my� name for as long as she has used her maiden name, so how can she be denied the right to use it after a [hypothetical] divorce.