Camilla’s grandchildren will take centre stage at King Charles’ coronation

The Queen Consort’s teenage grandchildren will play a central role in King Charles’s coronation alongside Prince George as heir to the throne, sources say.

Camilla has reportedly indicated she wants her five grandchildren; Lola and Eliza, both 15, Freddy, 13, and twins Louis and Gus, also 13, to hold the canopy over her as she is anointed with holy oil on May 6. 

In the past, duchesses have performed the role, which is considered one of the most sacred parts of the ceremony.

A royal insider told The Times: ‘The Queen Consort has said she does not want duchesses. She would like it to be her grandchildren.’

It’s a significant decision given the fact Camilla’s grandchildren have been largely shielded from the spotlight over the years. 

But sources say the King and Queen Consort are keen to get them involved to acknowledge how close they are to the teenagers, and to reflect the reality of their life as a blended family.

Lola and Freddy are the children of Camilla’s son Tom Parker Bowles, while Eliza, Louis and Gus are the children of her daughter, Laura Lopes. The King is also said to be incredibly close to each of them.

Prince George, as future monarch, is also expected to be handed an official role.

King Charles and the Queen Consort – who will drop the consort title after the coronation – will reportedly sit down with the Prince and Princess of Wales in the coming weeks to discuss George’s involvement.

Royal sources told the publication William and Kate are both keen for George to be involved in an official capacity, provided he’s not subjected to excessive scrutiny.

The insider said: ‘It sends a nice signal and is quite a bold move. 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.’ 

Dr Tessa Dunlop, speaking to the Daily Mail’s Palace Confidential series alongside Diary Editor Richard Eden, said other working members of the firm are also expected to have minor roles in the coronation, the emphasis will be on King Charles and his heirs – Princes William and George.

She said: ‘[They] want to keep it focused on that line of succession. So we’re going to see a lot of camera shots of Charles, of William, of George.’

Royal commentator Katie Nicholl previously detailed how Camilla loves being a grandmother.

She said the Queen Consort has long made an effort to ‘remind’ her husband not to miss out on cherished moments with his family.

Camilla’s popularity has soared in the nation in recent years and she’s now known as one of the hardest working royals.

So great is her remarkable transformation in the public eye, she’s now likely to drop ‘Consort’ from her title – a feat many thought would never happen due to the disdain many held for her in the early days of her relationship with Charles.

The first sign of the new approach came last week when Camilla launched the ‘Queen’s Reading Room’ – without the ‘Consort’ – when she updated the name of her charity, the Duchess of Cornwall’s Reading Room.

It is thought that the Court Circular – the official register of Royal engagements – may also soon reflect the change.

A well-placed source said: ‘There’s a view in the Palace that Queen Consort is cumbersome and it might be simpler for Camilla to be known just as the Queen when the time is right.’

Buckingham Palace officials have been looking at precedent, including the titles used for the wife of King George VI, Charles’s grandfather.

As a non-reigning Queen, George VI’s wife was technically Queen Consort but was known in public simply as Queen Elizabeth.

Following his death in 1952, she was known as the Queen Mother when her daughter Elizabeth II ascended the throne.

Similarly, when Queen Victoria died and was succeeded by her son Edward VII, his wife went from being known as the Princess of Wales to Queen Alexandra, without the use of the ‘Consort’.

After years of speculation, it was the Queen’s strong show of support last year which meant Camilla’s title when Charles was King became clearer.

In an official statement released by Buckingham Palace on the 70th anniversary of her accession to the throne, Her late Majesty said: ‘It is my sincere wish that, when that time comes, Camilla will be known as Queen Consort as she continues her own loyal service.’

The official decree set down by Queen Elizabeth II ended years of speculation as to whether Camilla would ever be known as Queen and left no doubt in the minds of the public of the late Queen’s position on the matter.

Foreign monarchs will be invited to the King’s coronation in a historic break with longstanding Royal protocol

Foreign monarchs will be invited to King Charles’s Coronation in an historic break with a longstanding Royal tradition.

‘Save the date’ notices are expected to go out to guests this week with official invitations to follow in April.

And while the guest list has been slashed from the 8,000 who attended the late Queen’s Coronation in 1953 to 2,000, there is one area the King has expanded.

For centuries, convention dictated that no other crowned Royals should be present at the Coronation of a British monarch because the sacred ceremony is intended to be an intimate exchange between the monarch and their people in the presence of God.

But as part of his plan to bring the ceremony up to date, King Charles has decided to move on from the 900-year-old tradition by inviting his crowned friends, including European royals and rulers from Arab states.

A source told The Mail on Sunday that tradition is being overhauled in the name of diplomacy, saying: ‘I believe the rule began because a Coronation is meant to be a monarch’s private event with God.

‘At the Queen’s Coronation there were no crowned monarchs, only the protectorate rulers like the Queen of Tonga. It’s been a tradition for centuries.’

The source added: ‘Inviting the King of Jordan, the Sultan of Brunei, the Sultan of Oman and the Scandinavian royals – who are all friends of Charles – will be a good bit of soft power and diplomacy.’

Another well-placed source said: ‘You can expect the guest list for the Coronation to more closely resemble that of a royal wedding than the Coronation 70 years ago.’

The decision over whether or not Charles will invite foreign monarchs has been kept a closely guarded secret. Prince Albert of Monaco came close to letting slip that a major break with tradition was coming when he revealed in January that he was expecting an invitation, along with his wife, Charlene of Monaco.

He said at the time: ‘I don’t know how many coronations of an English monarch I’ll see in my lifetime, so we’ll try to take advantage of that.’ Prince Albert added that he does not expect his children to be invited.

It is still uncertain whether Prince Harry will visit for the occasion from his home in California with his wife Meghan, Duchess of Sussex.

Inviting foreign monarchs is the latest change brought about by Charles as part of a coronation overhaul. He has already reduced a lengthy section of the ceremony known as the ‘homage’, during which hereditary peers dressed in ermine line up to pay their respects.

He also intends to give greater prominence to representatives from a host of charities.

The Royal Family’s website states: ‘The coronation ceremony is an occasion for pageantry and celebration, but it is also a solemn religious ceremony and has remained essentially the same over a thousand years.’

The Coronation was designed, in part, by retired colonel Anthony Mather, who also wrote the Queen’s funeral plan. The blueprint is being brought to fruition by the Duke of Norfolk, who is Earl Marshall and the most senior peer in Britain.

Buckingham Palace declined to comment.