Camilla to make sweet tribute to Queen Elizabeth at State Opening of Parliament in move ‘which will please her husband’
CAMILLA will wear the late Queen’s iconic diamond diadem for the first time when she appears at the State Opening of Parliament with the King tomorrow, The Sun can reveal.
Queen Elizabeth II wore the glittering £6million headpiece on the way to her Coronation in 1953 – and every subsequent State Opening of Parliament.
The jewellery is instantly recognisable and seen on the head of the late Queen on coins, banknotes and postage stamps.
It was made in 1821 is set with 1,333 diamonds in silver and gold, a four-carat yellow diamond at the front and crafted to incorporate the national emblems of thistle, shamrock and rose.
Sources say the diadem, which is one the late Queen’s most iconic items, is a highly significant choice of headwear for tomorrow’s event.
Queen Elizabeth II decreed 18 months ago that Camilla would be called ‘Queen Consort’ when Charles becomes King.
It was a U-turn on an earlier agreement after her marriage to Charles in 2005 that she would be ‘Princess Consort’ following his divorce nine years earlier with Princess Diana.
Earlier this year, Buckingham Palace began dropping the ‘Consort’ title and named as the King and Queen on the Coronation invites.
The palace said Consort was only used to distinguish her from Queen Elizabeth II and the Coronation was the “appropriate time” to refer to her as Queen Camila.
Ingrid Seward, editor-in-chief of Majesty Magazine, said: “I think Camilla is always reticent to take on any mantle of the late Queen, including the title.
“But everything she does is to please her husband.
“I honestly don;t think she has a scrap of royal ambition but just happy to keep the King happy.
“She does everything for him and if he wants her to wear the Diamond Diadem then that is what she will do.
“I’m sure the public will recognise it because of the stamps.”
Camilla is set to wear the diadem – which is not a tiara – for the first time when she joins the King at the State Opening of Parliament on November 7.
The Sun’s legendary photographer Arthur Edwards said: “It is a great tribute for the late Queen and following wonderful traditions.”
Camilla was crowned with a reconfigured St Mary’s Crown from 1911 at her coronation with Charles.
On the eve of the 70th anniversary of her Accession Day, the late Queen wrote: “When, in the fullness of time, my son Charles becomes King, I know you will give him and his wife Camilla the same support that you have given me; and it is my sincere wish that, when that time comes, Camilla will be known as Queen Consort as she continues her own loyal service.”
Invites to May’s crowning at Westminster Abbey stated it was the ‘Coronation of King Charles III & Queen Camilla’ and the name of her reading room charity was also upgraded from the Duchess of Cornwall to Queen.
A palace source said ahead of the Coronation: “It made sense to refer to Her Majesty as the Queen Consort in the early months of His Majesty’s reign, to distinguish from Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.
“The coronation is an appropriate time to start using ‘Queen Camilla’ in an official capacity,” the royal source said.
The Diamond Diadem made in 1821 is set with 1,333 diamonds in silver and gold, a four-carat yellow diamond at the front and crafted to incorporate the national emblems of thistle, shamrock and rose.
The gems at the time cost £8,216 which are now around £850,000.
The diadem is said to cost at least £6million.
It is instantly recognisable as the headpiece worn by the Queen on postage stamps between 1953 and 1971.
Buckingham Palace did not comment.