Camilla was crowned Queen of the United Kingdom at the ceremony that took place this Saturday at Westminster Abbey in London.
The queen was first anointed with oil on her head by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Primate of the Anglican Church, who subsequently placed the crown of Queen Mary on her head.
The wife of King Charles III for 18 years ceases to be called queen consort in this way, to be considered only as queen.
A smiling Camilla received the Queen Consort’s Scepter and the Queen Consort’s Rod with Dove from the Bishop Emeritus of London and the Bishop of Dover.
According to British tradition, the wives of monarchs have crowned queens, something that is not the case with the husbands of queens, as was the case with the Duke of Edinburgh, Philip, father of Charles III and husband of Elizabeth II.
After Camilla’s coronation, the choir sang a new hymn, “Make a joyful noise”, composed for the occasion by the prestigious author of musicals and soundtracks Andrew Lloyd Weber.
Subsequently, the kings removed their crowns, which they wore for the only time in their lives on May 6, to continue with the Eucharist in the religious service, which will end around 12:00 GMT, before returning to Buckingham Palace, from whose balcony will greet the citizens.
Who is Camilla, Queen of Great Britain?
After years of being portrayed as Britain’s most hated woman, Camilla, the second wife of King Charles, was crowned queen on Saturday, capping off a remarkable shift in public acceptance few would have thought possible.
When Charles’ divorced first wife, the popular and glamorous Princess Diana, was killed in a car accident in Paris in 1997, Camilla bore the brunt of the media’s hostility. Some declared that the couple could never marry.
But they were married eight years later, and since then she has come to be recognized, if still grudgingly by some, as a key member of the royal family, as someone greatly trusted by the new king, and as Queen Camilla of the nation.
“She’s kind of his soul mate,” said Robert Hardman, longtime royal correspondent and author of ‘Queen of our Times,’ noting that she had been married to Charles longer than Diana.
“They are a team. And you have to be a team.”
Born Camilla Shand in 1947 into a wealthy family (her father was an army major and wine merchant who married an aristocrat), she moved into social circles that brought her into contact with Charles, whom she met at a polo field. windswept in the early 1970s.
The couple dated for a time, and Charles had contemplated marriage but felt too young to take such an important step.
While pursuing her naval career, Camilla married a cavalry officer, Brigadier Andrew Parker Bowles. The couple had two children, Tom and Laura. They divorced in 1995.
Charles himself married 20-year-old Diana in a 1981 wedding that charmed not only Britain but the world. After having two sons, William and Harry, their relationship soured and they divorced in 1996 after he rekindled his affair with his former lover.
Amid a public outpouring of grief and anger after Diana’s death, Camilla came under harsh criticism. But in the years that followed, royal aids, tasked with rebuilding the tarnished reputation of the royal family as a whole, slowly began to integrate Camilla into a more public role as well.
