Queen Camilla was all smiles Wednesday as she arrived on the Isle of Man to, among other engagements, grant city status upon Douglas, the capital of the crown dependency.
The Queen was greeted upon arrival at Ronaldsway Airport and departed for Douglas City Hall to grant the borough official city status. There, she read a speech on behalf of her husband, telling those gathered that the King “is so sorry that he cannot be with us today on this extremely special occasion.”
She then began reading King Charles’s speech, in which he wrote: “I hope that Manannan packed his cloak away to enable my dear wife to land at Ronaldsway from the adjacent isle this afternoon!
“The award of city status to Douglas was one of only eight granted during my mother’s Platinum Jubilee, and it recognises the unique culture and heritage of this capital on your special island.”
Douglas received city status in 2022 during the Platinum Jubilee celebrations for Queen Elizabeth II. It has been the capital since 1896 and houses the oldest continuous parliament in the world, according to Buckingham Palace.
An especially poignant factor in Douglas’s city status was revealed by Queen Camilla, who noted that the King felt those letters patent are “particularly special” as they are “the only ones in existence that hold both my signature and that of my late mother.”
The Queen then signed the letters patent and stepped outside to unveil a plaque that read: “City Hall – Unveiled by Her Majesty Queen Camilla on 20th March 2024.” A walkabout followed, where the Queen met with members of the public before she departed for Government House.
At Government House, the Queen met with the Isle of Man’s Chief Minister, Alfred Cannan, and met, outdoors, representatives from local community groups like the Royal National Lifeboat Institution and the Manx Bluetits Swimming Club. Inside Government House, the Queen met with the Lieutenant Governor and representatives from cancer charities and environmental charities.
After a whirlwind day of engagements, Buckingham Palace announced that Queen Camilla had departed the Isle of Man and flown to Northern Ireland where she will carry out engagements on Thursday.
