‘Smug’ Queen Camilla Claims She’s ‘Just As Popular’ As Princess Kate Following US Tour ‘Success’

King Charles III and Queen Camilla are coming off their U.S. tour feeling triumphant, an insider tells Star.

“Everyone is praising them for how well they represented the U.K. and all the goodwill they created in America between the two countries,” says the insider. “Camilla had quite a few moments herself. She did her share of speeches and events and by all accounts, it was a huge success.”

Everywhere they went, Charles, 77, and Camilla, 78, were “treated like absolute rock stars and it absolutely went to her head,” the insider reveals. “Camilla is like the cat that ate the canary. It’s hard to think of a time when she was more smug than she is right now.”

Camilla is not only basking in the praise she’s received from the royal tour, it also appears to have emboldened her to reaffirm her status and power in the royal family.

As Star previously reported, sources say the queen consort is fuming over the way Princess Kate and Prince William have essentially pushed her and Charles aside.

“She’s spent a lot of time worrying about Kate taking the spotlight from her and being so much more well-loved,” admits the insider. “But she’s now totally changed her tune and is saying she’s just as popular” as the beloved Princess of Wales, 44.

Adds the insider: “She’s even gone so far as to take Kate aside to tell her” that she and William, 43, “need to cool their jets because she and Charles have no plans to step aside.”