Camilla, the Queen Consort, will be crowned alongside her husband King Charles III during his coronation ceremony, Buckingham Palace has announced.
The King’s coronation will be held on Saturday 6 May 2023 in Westminster Abbey, eight months after his accession to the throne following the death of Queen Elizabeth II.
The ceremony, which will be conducted by the Archbishop of Canterbury, will be “rooted in long-standing traditions and pageantry,” according to the palace, and will “reflect the monarch’s role today and look towards the future”.
During the historic ceremony, Camilla will be anointed with holy oil and crowned, similarly to Elizabeth, the Queen Mother, when she was crowned Queen in 1937. As for the King, Charles III will be anointed with holy oil, receive the orb, coronation ring and sceptre, be crowned with St Edward’s Crown and blessed.
“Buckingham Palace is pleased to announce that the coronation of His Majesty The King will take place on Saturday 6th May 2023. The coronation ceremony will take place at Westminster Abbey, London, and will be conducted by the Archbishop of Canterbury,” the palace said in a statement. “The ceremony will see His Majesty King Charles III crowned alongside the Queen Consort.
“The coronation will reflect the monarch’s role today and look towards the future, while being rooted in long-standing traditions and pageantry.”
Camilla’s role in the coronation comes after Elizabeth II expressed her wish for the then-Duchess of Cornwall to be known as Queen Consort when Charles became King on the eve of her Platinum Jubilee in February 2022.
“And when, in the fullness of time, my son Charles becomes King, I know you will give him and his wife Camilla the same support that you have given me; and it is my sincere wish that, when that time comes, Camilla will be known as Queen Consort as she continues her own loyal service,” the late monarch said in a statement released ahead of the jubilee celebrations.
Prior to the statement, it was speculated that Camilla may use the title Princess Consort, which would be a first in British history, when Charles became King. The decision would have gone against legislation, which states that the wife of a King automatically becomes a Queen.
However, the possibility seemed likely, as the royal website used to state: “A Queen Consort is crowned with the King, in a similar but simpler ceremony,” before it was changed to include the clause “unless decided otherwise” following Charles’ marriage to Camilla in 2005.
The uncertainty around Camilla’s title stemmed partly from the public’s opinion of the royal, who married the King after his first wife Diana, the late Princess of Wales, revealed that they had been involved in an affair.
Charles III admitted to adultery in 1994, two years after he and Diana formally separated.
However, in the days since Queen Elizabeth II’s death and Charles’ accession, there have been calls for the royal to be able to drop “consort” from her title and simply go as Queen Camilla or the Queen.
The title of Queen Consort was previously afforded to Elizabeth, the wife of King George VI, who was referred to as Queen Elizabeth during her husband’s reign. She became the Queen Mother following her husband’s death in 1952.
It has been reported that, during the ceremony, Camilla will be crowned with the Queen Mother’s coronation crown, which is decorated with 2,800 diamonds, including the 105-carat controversial Koh-i-Noor diamond.
While much of Charles III’s coronation will follow tradition, there will be some key differences, with the ceremony expected to be shortened from three hours to just one hour and guest numbers reduced from 8,000 to 2,000.
The dress code may also be more relaxed, with peers expected to wear suits and dresses instead of ceremonial robes, while the coronation is expected to be more inclusive of multi-faith Britain than past coronations.
The new monarch has also broken from tradition with the date of the ceremony, as coronations have not traditionally been held on a weekend. Queen Elizabeth II’s coronation took place on June 2 1953 and was watched by an estimated 27 million people in Britain alone.
As for whether there will be a bank holiday, the palace has yet to comment on whether there will be any arrangements for a bank holiday. However, it is unlikely that the government will call for a bank holiday either side of the coronation weekend.
