The Prince of Wales has indicated for the first time that the Duchess of Cornwall “could be” Queen if he is crowned King.

Prince Charles revealed his thoughts about what title his wife could take during a interview being broadcast on the American network NBC today. The official position since the couple married in 2005 is that Camilla would have the title Princess Consort and not Queen.

But during the television discussion the Prince did not correct presenter Brian Williams from NBC’s Dateline programme when he asked: “Does the Duchess of Cornwall become Queen of England, if and when you become the monarch?”

Hesitating as he spoke the Prince replied: “That’s well... we’ll see won’t we? That could be.”

Women married to a monarch have historically been crowned Queen Consort, with the exception of Queen Mary II who, with her husband King William III, reigned as joint-sovereign from 1689 to 1694.

At the time of their marriage it was believed Camilla did not want to be styled Queen.

In 2005 the Government said that unless there was a change in the law the Duchess would automatically become Queen if Charles became King. The Prince’s legal advisers contended in the run-up to the wedding that convention, not legislation, governed whether the wife of the King was known as Queen.

But Prince Charles’ comments appear to indicate he would favour his wife taking the title Queen when he becomes King. The interview was held in August mostly in the grounds of the Castle of Mey in Scotland and also touched on the lives of Charles’ sons Princes William and Harry and their military careers.

Prince William, 28, now an RAF Search and Rescue helicopter pilot, was a former Army officer while his 26-year-old brother is also an Army officer being trained to fly Apache helicopters.