RICHARD KAY: The title of Queen is a fitting reward for Camilla’s years of loyalty and dedication

So now it’s official. With the invitations to May’s coronation falling on the doormats in the coming days, the last pretense will be gone.

No longer just Queen Consort, the former Mrs. Parker Bowles will be elevated to Queen Camilla style. And at the stroke of the calligrapher’s pen, the last remnant of the divorcee’s second-hand status will be little more than a footnote in royal history.

The lavishly decorated coronation invitations unveiled yesterday, hand-painted in watercolor and gouache, mark the first time she has been officially proclaimed queen without the qualification of “consort.”

To some, this will be seen as the natural and rightful advancement of a woman whose devotion and loyalty to her husband has been relentless since their marriage at Windsor Castle in 2005. Others may marvel at the extraordinary upward trajectory of the woman condemned by the late Princess Diana as the third person in her marriage.

Therefore, on the momentous day next month, when all eyes will be on the sacred rites and pomp as King Charles III is crowned, many will be equally captivated by the presence of the blond figure at his side.

Pictured: Prince Charles talks to Camilla Parker-Bowles during a polo match, circa 1972

It has, of course, been a painful and turbulent journey for the wife of the former army officer: from mistress of the heir to the throne, to his indispensable wife and now to his queen.

Just over a year ago, the only remaining stumbling block that could have prevented such a moment disappeared, when the late Queen Elizabeth granted her assent by expressing her “sincere wish” that her son’s wife should be fully recognized as queen when Charles ascended the throne.

At the time it was a game changer. Years of uneasiness – even fear – about how a Queen Camilla might destabilize the monarchy were immediately brushed aside. If the late Queen—who once pointedly remarked about Camilla looking “rather used”—could not just accept her but embrace her as the future, the argument went, then so should everyone else.

In the seven months since Charles took over from his mother, Camilla has been an ever-present and reassuring companion without putting a foot wrong. In today’s royal family, which is embroiled in controversy on so many fronts, that in itself is a significant achievement.

Still, nervousness remained among the courtiers about how to properly assimilate the woman whom some fans of the monarchy will never forgive for taking Diana’s place in the royal marriage.

But overcoming this final obstacle ahead of the coronation shows Buckingham Palace at its most deft. As an old Palace hand told me, “It was about grabbing the nettle and settling this debate over her status once and for all.

“There’s admiration for her all over the country, affection even, which may not be universal, but there’s something permanent and firm about it.”

It was a clever strategy to ditch Camilla’s status alongside other positive news about Prince George’s role, alongside Camilla’s grandsons, Gus, Louis and Freddy, as the King and Queen’s pages of honor for the May 6 ceremony.

To some, this will be seen as the natural and rightful advancement of a woman whose devotion and loyalty to her husband has been relentless since their marriage at Windsor Castle in 2005.

This Sunday marks the King and Queen’s consort’s 18th wedding anniversary, a milestone they could once have celebrated with gusto. But they will be focused on the historic opportunity that is coming.

The official coronation photo of the King and Queen, also released yesterday, shows a couple who are not only extremely comfortable with each other, but also with their situation.

The smiles on their lips, their relaxed demeanor and semi-formality – Charles in typical pose with one hand in a suit pocket – show us a royal couple at their most confident despite the grandeur of the Buckingham Palace Blue Drawing Room backdrop .

Here they are at last as equals, something that not so long ago seemed an unrealistic and distant prospect. As husband and wife they have been partners and it will be as partners that they approach this next crossroads in their lives as crowned king and queen.

It has been a necessarily quiet progress so far. It had to. There was the long mourning period for the late Queen Elizabeth and the uncertainty of the new world that Charles and Camilla occupied.

In the meantime, it seemed extremely sensible to continue to refer to her as queen consort, when the memories of Charles’s mother, who was always just the queen, were so strong.

But now that there is a clear path ahead, observers will search this portrait for clues not only to their state of mind, but also to the long-standing security of the monarchy as an institution.

Perhaps the most telling detail is the most obvious: As they prepare for the coronation, Charles and Camilla are not only blissfully happy, but brimming with confidence.