Coronation role for Camilla’s five grandchildren
THe Queen Consort’s teenage grandchildren will play a central role in the coronation – and may even help carry her train.
In a move emphasising how the King and his wife are part of a modern, blended Royal Family, Camilla’s five grandchildren, who have grown up out of the limelight, will be asked to take part in the ceremony at Westminster Abbey on May 6.
In the 1950s, when Queen elizabeth was crowned, such a move would have been unthinkable.
But 70 years on, Charles and Camilla are keen to embrace the fact they are both divorcees and make sure their wider families are included in their big day. Buckingham Palace has previously said the Coronation ‘will reflect the monarch’s role today and look towards the future, while being rooted in longstanding traditions and pageantry’.
It comes after The Mail on Sunday revealed the Palace is set to officially describe Camilla as Queen – dropping the ‘Consort’ title – after the Coronation.
Camilla – known to her family as ‘Gaga’ – has two children by her first marriage to Andrew Parker Bowles, and five grandchildren.
Her son, food critic Tom Parker Bowles, has two children – Lola, 15, and Freddy, 13 – while her daughter, Laura Lopes, has eliza, 15, and twins, Louis and Gus, 13. All are regular visitors to their official London residence.
Camilla also spends a great deal of time with them at weekends at Ray Mill House, her private Wiltshire home, and occasionally even picks them up from school. In December the Daily Mail revealed that she took them to see the ABBA Voyage concert as a Christmas treat.
Charles – she revealed to the Mail in an interview to mark her 70th birthday – is a doting stepgrandfather,
who used to read them Harry Potter stories at bedtime, entertaining them with impersonations of the characters.
Now they are older, she says, they keep her up to date with modern trends and social media.
But while they play an important part in her life and she speaks about them often privately, Camilla has always been respectful of their parents’ desire for them to grow up out of the spotlight.
A source who knows the King and Queen told The Sunday Times of Camilla’s grandchildren’s official roles: ‘It is another example of the King and Queen Consort being unafraid to shake things up a bit to reflect the realities of modern life, of which a blended family is a central element.’
It is understood suggestions Camilla has asked her grandchildren to hold a canopy over her as she is anointed with holy oil are wide of the mark. But it could be that the children are asked to hold the train of her mantle. It is also understood it is unlikely that Prince George will play a prominent part in the service.
The Prince and Princess of Wales have not yet decided what involvement their children might have.
A decision will be made in the coming weeks, although it is likely that George and Charlotte at least will be in the congregation.
‘Unafraid to shake things up’