The 75-year-old wife of King Charles III received a historic new title on Saturday.
Introducing Queen Camilla! While her husband, King Charles III, celebrated the first British coronation in 70 years on Saturday, Camilla Parker Bowles, also earned herself a new title and her own place in history.
Charles' coronation took place at Westminster Abbey, in London, England, and formalized his role as the head of the Church of England and marked the transfer of his title and powers.
King Charles was crowned with the St Edward's Crown from the 17th century, which weighs nearly five pounds, has a solid gold frame and 444 stones.
Similarly, Camilla was anointed and crowned as queen during the occasion. Camilla is the first divorcee to be crowned, and the coronation invitation that was released in April made headlines when it referred to her as "Queen Camilla" for the first time. Until then, she was described as queen consort.
During the ceremony, Camilla was seen wearing the historic "coronation necklace," which was previously worn by Queen Elizabeth II on her coronation day, 70 years prior in 1953, was first commissioned by Queen Victoria in 1853.
The necklace accessorized her a custom-designed ivory coat dress by Bruce Oldfield. According to Buckingham Palace, "the dress was cut from Peau de Soie, a silk fabric with a dull lustre finish, and woven by Stephen Walters in Suffolk, England."
Additionally, it was embellished with "delicate garlands of abstract wildflowers from fields and hedgerows: daisy chains, forget-me-nots, celandine and scarlet pimpernel, representing [Charles and Camilla's] affection for nature and the British countryside. Celebratory bunting, in antique gold and silver thread, intertwine amongst the swathes of wildflowers."
In another nod to Elizabeth, Camilla's "Robe of Estate," which was worn upon her departure from Westminster Abbey was embroidered with 24 plants, including the Lily of the Valley, which was the late Queen's favorite flower.
As the coronation began, Buckingham Palace officially updated Camilla's biography page to reflect her new title. According to the site, she is now known, or addressed, as "Her Majesty The Queen" and "The Queen."
The change came as the 75-year-old royal became officially recognized as Queen Camilla following her brief title as Camila, the Queen Consort leading up to the coronation.
During the ceremony, she was crowned with Queen Mary's Crown, which was made for the 1911 coronation of Queen Mary, the consort of King George V. It marked the first time in recent history that a consort will be crowned with a previously existing headpiece rather than having a new one made.
Prior to the coronation, the crown was reset to remove the controversial Koh-i-Noor diamond -- which many see as a symbol of Britain's violent colonial rule over India -- and replaced with the Cullinan III, IV, and V diamonds. While meant as a symbol of respect toward Elizabeth -- the stones come from her personal collection -- like their sister, the Cullinan II, the diamonds are South African, and also seen as relics of British imperialism.
The queen consort title was the late Queen Elizabeth II's expressed wish, which she shared in February 2022, marking the 70th anniversary of her reign.
"It is my sincere wish that, when that time comes, Camilla will be known as Queen Consort as she continues her own loyal service," Elizabeth said at the time.
According to NPR, the palace argued that it made sense to call Camilla "queen consort" before Queen Elizabeth died in September 2022 to more clearly distinguish between the two, but noted that the coronation invitation proves that won't be the case moving forward.
The title change is significant as even Queen Elizabeth II's late husband, Prince Philip, was not granted the title of "king" due to the tradition of a man marrying into the royal family not assuming the male version of the title held by his wife.
Camilla married Charles in 2005 following the death of his ex-wife, Princess Diana, in 1997. Camilla was previously married to Andrew Parker Bowles and they share son Thomas Henry and daughter Laura Rose.
Charles and Diana had two sons, Prince William and Prince Harry.
Harry attended the coronation, but his wife, Meghan Markle, did not join him. This news comes amid tension within the royal family after the December release of Harry and Meghan's Netflix docuseries, Harry & Meghan, and the Duke of Sussex's bestselling memoir, Spare, which came out in January. Both the doc and the book were critical of Harry's family and also shared intimate details about the royals from the couple's perspective.
While Harry is in England, Meghan will be staying at their home in Montecito, California, with their two children -- son Archie, who turned 4 on Saturday, and 1-year-old daughter Lilibet. Despite Harry and Meghan's estrangement from the royals, the couple is featured in the official souvenir program celebrating the coronation, which includes a happy photo of the family -- including Prince William, Kate Middleton and their three kids, Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis -- celebrating King Charles' 70th birthday in 2018.
Camilla's twin grandsons Gus and Louis Lopes, 13 (who are the sons of Camilla's daughter Laura Lopes) and Freddy Parker Bowles (the 13-year-old son of Camilla's son Tom Parker Bowles) are serving as Pages of Honor alongside Prince George. Camilla's great-nephew, Arthur Elliot, will be the fourth Page of Honor supporting the queen.
Although the actual anointment during the coronation ceremony is not broadcast publicly, plenty of special programming and live footage from the ceremony will be available to watch live on May 6, starting at 5 a.m. ET on CBS and Paramount+. Audiences will also be able to view coverage on CBS News, including the concert featuring Katy Perry and Lionel Richie on Sunday, May 7. Additionally, others can watch the coronation online on these streaming platforms.
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