Is Camilla being groomed to take over amid Queen health fears?

Reports have emerged that daughter-in-law Camilla (C), 74, may be asked to help manage the workload while the Queen (R) is ill. Photo / Getty Images

Palace aides are reportedly working on plans for the Duchess of Cornwall to take on a much bigger role, as the Queen battles a health scare.

Her Majesty has been ordered to rest for at least two weeks as she recovers from a mysterious illness, and has cancelled all public engagements during that period. She has instead been advised to stick to "light, desk-based activities".

The COP26 climate change conference in Glasgow is among several of the royal engagements she has been forced to cancel.

The Queen had recently been admitted to hospital for tests after pulling out of a planned trip to Northern Ireland. She was reportedly seen by specialists at the private King Edward VII's Hospital in central London, and her admission was understood not to be related to coronavirus.

The Queen has recently been admitted to hospital for tests after pulling out of a planned trip to Northern Ireland and been spotted using a walking stick. Photo / Getty Images

The news of her health issues has raised concerns about future leadership plans if the 95-year-old Monarch becomes unable to fulfil her role as Head of State.

Reports have emerged that daughter-in-law Camilla, 74, may be asked to help manage the workload. She could even be appointed to a top group of senior royals who could carry out duties on the Queen's behalf, sources told the UK's Daily Mail.

Camilla has been receiving much positive attention lately, after being praised for her speech last week at a reception in recognition of the of the Shameless! Festival, which aims to bring together activism and art to confront and change attitudes towards sexual violence.

Legally, four members of the royal family are entitled as "Counsellors of the State" to take over from the Queen if she's unable to perform her duties: Prince Charles, Prince William, Prince Andrew and Prince Harry.

They are chosen as they are next in the line of the throne and are all aged over 18.

However, the problem is that Prince Andrew and Prince Harry are not currently working members of the royal family.

Under the rules, two Counsellors of State must act together to perform important duties including providing Royal assent to bills passing through parliament. The UK government would theoretically be incapacitated if the two State counsellors are unable to take this action.

Dr Craig Prescott, a constitutional expert at Bangor University, said the situation poses a potential problem.

"There is a small but genuine risk that the non-availability of Counsellors of State could impede the operation of the constitution," he said. "It could certainly make the day-to-day running of Government much more tricky.

"The Counsellors of State are a Plan B from a constitutional point of view, but what happens when Plan B isn't quite ideal?

"The Queen may look to add the Duchess of Cornwall, who would become a Counsellor of State when Charles is King anyway. Or they could go down the line to Princesses Beatrice or Eugenie, or add more members of the family, like Princess Anne or Prince Edward to the list."

Camilla could be appointed to a top group of senior royals who could carry out duties on the Queen's behalf if she is not well enough. Photo / Getty Images

One example of the potential problem is when Prince Charles jets off for an official tour of Jordan and Egypt in mid-November, Prince William will remain the only Counsellor of State for that period.

In recent weeks, the Queen has started using a walking stick in public, agreed to skip her nightly gin martini for the sake of her health and faces the possibility of having to give up riding until next year because she is, as a royal source told the Mirror, "resting and taking every precaution to get back to full fitness".

On Saturday, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said the Queen is in "very good form" after having a routine conversation with her.