The upcoming coronation of King Charles III next month will see Camilla Parker-Bowles officially given the title of Queen Camilla. The recently unveiled invitations for the coronation ceremony have confirmed the new title for Camilla, who has been referred to as Queen Consort since the passing of Queen Elizabeth II in September last year.
The intricate invitation, reportedly sent to 2,000 individuals, invites guests to join the event at "The Abbey Church of Westminster on the 6th day of May 2023" for "The Coronation of Their Majesties King Charles III & Queen Camilla." Designed by Andrew Jamieson, the invitation also features an illustration of Camilla's coat of arms surrounded by the Garter, symbolizing her appointment as a Royal Lady of the Order of the Garter last summer.
A senior royal aide confirmed to the Daily Mail that Camilla will be officially called Queen Camilla after King Charles is crowned on May 6. The aide explained, "It made sense to refer to her Majesty as The Queen Consort in the early months of His Majesty's reign, to distinguish from Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II." The aide continued, "Queen Camilla is the appropriate title to set against King Charles on the invitation. The Coronation is an appropriate time to start using 'Queen Camilla' in an official capacity. All former Queen consorts have been known as Queen plus their first name."
Alongside the photograph, the invitation for the Coronation and the details of the eight Pages of Honour that will attend Their Majesties at Westminster Abbey have also been revealed:
https://t.co/NtZk0rB233 pic.twitter.com/dTASYWfAZ0 — The Royal Family (@RoyalFamily) April 4, 2023
Following the coronation, the royal website will be updated to replace Queen Consort with Queen Camilla, according to the Palace. To commemorate King Charles' coronation, a new joint portrait of the King and Queen Camilla has been unveiled, showing the couple smiling in the blue drawing room of Buckingham Palace. Queen Camilla is seen wearing a royal blue Fiona Clare dress.
The title Camilla would assume upon Charles' ascension to the throne has been a subject of much speculation. In a rare move, the late Queen Elizabeth II expressed in February last year that she sincerely wished for Camilla to be known as Queen Consort when the time came.
It was later confirmed in March that both Charles and Camilla would be crowned at the ceremony. The wife of a reigning king traditionally receives the title of Queen Consort, who is crowned and anointed during the coronation ceremony. Although the Queen Consort does not hold an official government position, her primary responsibility is to offer "companionship and moral and practical support" to the reigning monarch, as stated by Buckingham Palace.
When Camilla Parker-Bowles married Charles in 2005, she became the Duchess of Cornwall. Camilla opted not to assume the Princess of Wales title, which had been famously held by Charles' late ex-wife, Princess Diana, after her wedding to the then-Prince of Wales.
