Queen Camilla’s four months as queen consort have gone smoothly, which must be a relief for her—and King Charles—as there was always speculation (and confirmation) that she would never go by the title or be accepted as Queen Camilla.
But leave it to Queen Camilla to prove everybody wrong. In her first four months as consort, she has continued to spotlight the charities and causes she so brilliantly championed as Duchess of Cornwall and took to her elevated role as the King’s biggest supporter.
Perhaps the biggest story (or non-story) was over what to call her: Queen Camilla or Queen Consort Camilla? Most stuck with the latter, taking a truly literal interpretation of Queen Elizabeth II’s earlier message about wanting her to be known as the queen consort with time, but Queen Camilla is a correct form, too. Just ask the historians who know all about Queen Elizabeth (The Queen Mother), Queen Mary, and Queen Alexandra…all consorts, all referred to as simply queen.
Here’s how the final months of 2022 played out for Queen Camilla: she attended a literacy festival as one of her first official solo engagements as Queen Consort. She paid a visit to Scotland with King Charles and thanked the community for their tributes to Queen Elizabeth II. Queen Camilla praised her late mother-in-law’s racing legacy at a visit to Ascot; and presented the Booker Prize, one of literature’s biggest awards.
Her work with osteoporosis awareness continues to be close to her heart: she urged people to get tested and check their risk factors. During a flight from India to London, Queen Camilla’s plane was hit by a bird.
In her first solo audience as Queen Consort, Queen Camilla met with the Children’s Laureate to discuss literacy. Ahead of the Field of Remembrance ceremony at Westminster Abbey, Queen Camilla’s cypher was revealed for the first time. We also shared how historic Queen Camilla’s coronation will be when she’s crowned alongside King Charles III on 6 May 2023.
Queen Camilla presented a dance award to legendary dancer Mikhail Baryshnikov, then helped distribute Paddington Bear teddies left in tribute in the aftermath of Queen Elizabeth II’s death to children’s charity Barnardo’s. She further paid tribute to Queen Elizabeth II in the Queen’s Commonwealth Essay Competition, saying that “she is so greatly missed by us all.”
A further visit to Ascot led to disappointment, but Queen Camilla’s first tiara as the Queen did not disappoint. And she continued to lead in the area of domestic and sexual violence awareness, hosting a reception at Buckingham Palace to coincide with the United Nations events. She hosted a tea for her royal counterparts, including Queen Rania of Jordan and Crown Princess Mary of Denmark.
In a sign of modernity, Queen Camilla scrapped ladies-in-waiting but added Queen’s Companions to help her out at engagements.
Queen Camilla kept up her Christmas tradition of welcoming children to Clarence House to decorate the Christmas tree, and we wrote about how Camilla and Catherine are ushering in new holiday traditions for the House of Windsor.
In her first military appointment since becoming Queen Consort, Camilla was announced as Colonel of the Grenadier Guards, taking over from her disgraced brother-in-law, Prince Andrew. She later joined her husband at Sandringham for Christmas celebrations.
The new year is gearing up to be an important one for Queen Camilla: she’ll be crowned alongside her husband, and her profile will only continue to grow!
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