Camilla Parker Bowles, Queen Consort, looked incredible as she and her husband, King Charles III, arrived at Westminster Abby during Charles’ official coronation on Saturday, May 6. Camilla, 75, looked elegant in a white dress that included gold details. The dress was designed by Princess Diana‘s previous trusted designer, Bruce Oldfield, according to The Sun. Her neck sparkled with Queen Victoria‘s 25-diamond necklace, including a 22.48-carat pendant, called the Lahore Diamond, per The Telegraph.
Camilla’s robe has a special tie to the late Queen Elizabeth II, who died in Sept. 2022 at the age of 96. Her robe is the same Robe of State used by Queen Elizabeth at her coronation in 1954, per Royal Central. It was preserved and slightly altered by Ede and Ravenscroft ahead of the coronation. She is re-wearing the robe in an effort to be sustainable, which is something at the forefront of Charles’ reign. In his BBC documentary called Charles R: The Making of a Monarch, which debuted on Sunday, April 3o, he spoke about his desire to preserve the environment for future generations. “I mind so much about the future, what we’re going to leave to our children and grandchildren. That’s what really gets me going,” he said.
Camilla’s robe will be changed out for the purple Robe of Estate at the end of the coronation and she will don it as she leaves Westminster Abbey. The velvet robe was embroidered with gold flowers and insects by the Royal School of Needlework, according to Royal Central. The design is meant to honor both Camilla and Charles’ desire to protect the planet and was made specifically for Camilla.
Camilla’s Robe of Estate has been embroidered with bees, a beetle, and various plants, including Lily of the Valley, which she utilized in her wedding bouquet and was one of Queen Elizabeth’s favorite flowers. The robe also is decorated with myrtle, a white flowering plant that symbolizes hope, per PEOPLE, and Delphinium, the flower of Camilla’s birth month and one of King Charles’ favorite flowers. Alchemilla Mollis, commonly known as Lady’s Mantle, has been included to represent “love and comfort”, while Maidenhair Fern was added to represent “purity”. Finally, the embroidered cornflowers, symbolize “love and tenderness”.
As for her crown, Camilla is wearing Queen Mary’s Crown rather than commissioning her own. The crown is set with 2,200 diamonds and was worn by Queen Mary at George V‘s coronation in 1911. The crown has been altered to include the Cullinan III, IV, and V diamonds, which were part of Queen Elizabeth II’s collection, per Buckingham Palace. Maxwell Stone, creative director of jewelry specialist Steven Stone, estimated that the crown is worth about $440,680,000, per Yahoo! Life. It was previously worth more, but the controversial Koh-i-Nûr diamond, which was forcefully signed away from India’s 10-year-old king Maharaja Duleep Singh in 1849, was removed and incorporated into the Queen Mother’s crown in 1937, per the Royal Collection Trust.
Camilla is being crowned alongside her husband at Westminster Abbey. Afterward, they are scheduled to make an appearance on the famous balcony of Buckingham Palace together. She will also enjoy a title change, and will no longer be referred to as Queen Consort, as a previous Buckingham Palace release referred to her as “Queen Camilla.”
Camilla, who has been married to King Charles, 74, since 2005, is the first divorced royal Consort to be crowned. She’s also the first Consort crowned since George VI and Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother were crowned in 1937. Prince Phillip, Elizabeth II’s husband, knelt before her during her coronation and was not crowned, which is tradition. Although he was not crowned, Queen Elizabeth made him a prince in 1957.
Camilla’s coronation is a symbol of unity between the King and Queen of England, as well as an incredible redemption story. Camilla was publicly blamed for getting between Charles and his first wife Princess Diana. The late “People’s Princess” famously said there were “three of us in this marriage” in her controversial interview with BBC’s Martin Bashir in 1995. Camilla was also originally rejected by Queen Elizabeth II. However, by the time Queen Elizabeth celebrated her historic Platinum Jubilee in 2022, she publicly said it was her “most sincere wish” for Camila to take the title of Queen Consort when the time came.
The Coronation Service of Their Majesties The King Charles III and The Queen Consort was attended by a congregation of more than 2,200 guests, including Members of the Royal Family, international representatives from over 200 countries, and approximately 100 Heads of State. The hand painted invitation, which was shared via the Royal’s Instagram, was sent to all guests. Notably absent among the guests were US President Joe Biden, though his wife, First Lady Dr. Jill Biden, attended, and Duchess of Sussex, Meghan Markle, who stayed in America with Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet.
In the official announcement for the King’s coronation made back in October 2022, Buckingham Palace promised that the coronation would “reflect the monarch’s role today and look towards the future, while being rooted in longstanding traditions and pageantry.” The Archbishop of Canterbury performed the official crowning of Charles with St Edward’s Crown and the crowning of Camila with Queen Mary’s Crown at Westminster Abbey on Saturday, May 6.