Appropriately dressed in royal blue, the King and Queen’s consort pose for a new official portrait as Buckingham Palace announced last night that following the coronation, the monarch’s wife will be known as Queen Camilla.
The news came as officials released an image of the elaborately illustrated invitation that will be sent later this month to 2,000 guests who secured a coveted spot at Westminster Abbey on May 6.
The first indication that the king’s long-held dream of having his wife crowned queen by his side was finally coming true was the wording of the invitation itself: “The Coronation of Their Majesties King Charles III and Queen Camilla.”
When asked about the title – when the accompanying press release itself still referred to Camilla as the Queen Consort – a senior royal aide confirmed: Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.
“Queen Camilla is the proper title to knock off King Charles at the invitation. The coronation is an opportune time to start using “Queen Camilla” in an official capacity. All former Queen Consorts are known as Queen plus their first name.’
Appropriately dressed in royal blue, the King and Queen consort pose for a new official portrait
Queen Elizabeth II poses with Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, on June 2, 1953, before her coronation
It is understood that Buckingham Palace will update its website next month to reflect the change.
The Daily Mail was the first to reveal in December that the Palace planned to remove the word Consort from Camilla’s title ‘organic’ this year.
This was confirmed by The Mail on Sunday in February, when it reported that she would be named queen after the coronation.
The change, once unimaginable, seals a remarkable transformation for Camilla in the nation’s affections.
When she married the then Prince of Wales in 2005 in a civil ceremony — which Queen Elizabeth declined to attend — it was announced that Camilla was “intending” to be known as Princess Consort when her husband ascended the throne.
The use of the word “intended” was intended to give royal aides room for maneuver, but at the time many still blamed her for the failure of Charles’s marriage to Diana, Princess of Wales.
Since then, however, Camilla, 75, has won over many with her warmth, sense of humour, lack of complaining and work for the victims of domestic violence, as well as the promotion of literacy.
A royal insider said last night: ‘His Majesty has always seen it as a matter of honour. He is king, so it follows that his wife must be queen.
The change, once unthinkable, seals a remarkable transformation for Camilla in the nation’s affection
“It’s like telling someone not to be known as Mrs. So-and-so.
“It is entirely up to them whether they choose to be called that, but it is still fundamentally their right to do so.”
Tomorrow marks a month before the coronation, but invitations to the historic event, the first of its kind in 70 years, will only be sent out about two weeks in advance.
They become collector’s items, with a beautifully designed border of flora and fauna galloping around a Green Man, an ancient traditional symbol of spring and rebirth, to represent the new reign.
Buckingham Palace has also confirmed the Pages of Honor of the King and Queen Consort – led by Charles’ grandson Prince George, who will take part in the two-hour ceremony at the age of nine.
The then-Princess Elizabeth was 11 when she watched her own father be crowned in 1937, but she had no official role. Her son, Prince Charles, who was only four, also failed to attend her own coronation in 1953.
Prince George will not only be watching, but has been asked to wear his 74-year-old grandfather’s robes along with three other pages, Lord Oliver Cholmondeley, 13, Master Nicholas Barclay, 13, and Master Ralph Tollemache, 12.
The Queen Consort’s honorary pages are Her Majesty’s grandsons, Master Gus and Master Louis Lopes, both 13, and Master Freddy Parker Bowles, 12. The fourth is Camilla’s second cousin, Master Arthur Elliot, 11.
The new portrait of Their Majesties released last night was created last month in Buckingham Palace’s Blue Drawing Room by Hugo Burnand, who will also be taking their official coronation photos.
Camilla wears a favorite Fiona Clare dress with a pearl necklace with diamond clasp and pearl earrings.