Camilla to be known as the Queen from the Coronation onwards after Palace drop Consort title from official invitation
BUCKINGHAM Palace has dropped Camilla’s “Consort” title from Coronation invitations — and she will now be known as the Queen.
Royal aides say that May 6, when she is crowned alongside King Charles III, is the “appropriate” moment.
Sources close to Camilla, 75, said it “made sense” to use Queen Consort for the past seven months to distinguish her from Queen Elizabeth II — but now is the time for change.
The ornate invitations, dubbed “stiffies” by royal aides because they are printed on firm card, will be sent to more than 2,000 guests within the next two weeks.
A royal source said: “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.”
When Camilla married Charles in 2005 it was announced she would take the title Princess Consort when Charles became King. But last year the late Queen upgraded her to Queen Consort.
Weeks earlier, Camilla was inducted into the highest order of chivalry, the Order of the Garter. Those present included grandsons Gus and Louis Lopes and Freddy Parker Bowles.
They will be among eight Pages of Honour at Westminster Abbey — along with Prince George who, at nine, will become the youngest future monarch to have a role in a coronation.
The Palace said Queen Consort is Camilla’s “rank” while Queen will be her title.
She will officially be called Queen Camilla in all royal documents from the day of the Coronation. The royal website will be updated after she is crowned.
The Green King
ECO-friendly King Charles is sending a “green” invitation to more than 2,000 Coronation guests — but Harry and Meghan have yet to confirm if they will attend.
Charles, 74, and Camilla, 75, last night released a new photograph to mark a month and one day until the new king is crowned.
The Palace also revealed the colourful and detailed invitation, which has a border of British meadow wildflowers and wildlife.
Future King Prince George, nine, is one of four Pages of Honour who will join the royal procession inside Westminster Abbey on Saturday May 6.
A spokesman for the King and Camilla — who will drop the Consort title and be known as Queen after the Coronation — declined to say whether the Sussexes have accepted their invite.
But it is understood Harry, 38, and Meghan, 41, inset right, have yet to confirm whether they will take their seats inside the abbey.
This invitation has been designed by Andrew Jamieson — who is a Brother of the Art Workers’ Guild, of which Charles is an honorary member.
A royal spokesman said the invitations will be printed on eco-friendly recycled cards with gold foil detailing.
The cards are inspired by the floral Coronation Emblem which was unveiled in February.
The hottest ticket in town will be posted within the next two weeks to those who have confirmed they are attending.
Mr Jamieson said: “To have been invited to play a small part in such an event in our nation’s history has been an incredible honour and the opportunity of a lifetime, the pinnacle of my career.
“My hope is that those who see the invitation will get as much joy from it as I did creating it. I wish Their Majesties every good wish for their upcoming Coronation celebration as they begin this new journey together.”
William and Kate’s eldest son George will become the youngest future monarch to play a senior role at a Coronation.
Charles was four when he witnessed his mother’s Coronation — when he attended as a guest in the congregation in 1953.
Alongside George will be seven all-male pages including three of Camilla’s grandchildren.
Their role will be to hold the King and Queen Consort’s robes during the ceremony — which is expected to be scaled down to around two-and-a-half hours.
Camilla’s pages will include her grandsons Gus and Louis Lopes, the 13-year-old twin sons of Laura Lopes.
In addition will be grandson Freddy Parker Bowles, 12, the son of Tom Parker Bowles, and her great-nephew Arthur Elliot, 11.
The King’s pages will be Prince George and Lord Oliver Cholmondeley, 13, the son of former Lord Great Chamberlain David Cholmondeley, 62, the 7th Marquess of Cholmondeley and his wife Rose Hanbury, 39.
The Palace announced the remaining King’s pages are 13-year-old Nicholas Barclay, grandson of Camilla’s companion Sarah Troughton, and Ralph Tollemache, 12, the son of Charles’s godson Edward.
The new photograph was taken last month in the Blue Drawing Room at Buckingham Palace.
Camilla is wearing a Fiona Clare dress and diamond clasp pearl necklace.
King Charles has been campaigning on environmental causes since the late 1960s.
Buckingham Palace has said that although the Coronation will be “rooted in long-standing traditions”, it will also “reflect the monarch’s role today and look towards the future”.
The King and Camilla will travel to Westminster Abbey, and return to Buckingham Palace in a larger procession, where they will be joined by other members of the Royal Family.
