Queen Camilla will wear Queen Mary’s Crown for her Coronation

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Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, Queen Camilla, Queen Consort, Queen Mary, Queen Mary's Crown, Queen Victoria, The Great Exhibition, The Koh-i-Noor Diamond

Today Buckingham Palace announced that Queen Camilla will wear the gold and silver crown once worn by Queen Mary at her Coronation in 1911 with King George V.

Generally a new Queen Consort will have a new crown made for her for her coronation. However, Her Majesty the Queen has opted to use Queen Mary’s crown instead and have it modified to reflect “the Consort’s individual style.”

By selecting Queen Mary’s crown it will be the first time
since the 18th century that a Queen Consort’s crown has been re-used. The last time this occurred was when Queen Caroline (born a Princess of Brandenburg-Ansbach) and consort of King George II of Great Britain wore the crown made for Mary of Modena, who was the consort of King James II-VII of England, Scotland and Ireland.

Crown of Mary of Modena

Queen Mary’s crown has eight arches around the crown and part of it’s modification four of the arches will be removed. The crown will also be reset with the famous Cullinan III, IV, and V diamonds that the Queen Elizabeth II often wore as brooches.

One rather large piece of jewelry that will be absent from the crown is the highly controversial Koh-i-Noor diamond. This large 105.6 carat diamond has multiple conflicting legends on the origin of the diamond.

Her Majesty, Queen Camilla

However, in the words of the colonial administrator Theo Metcalfe, there is “very meagre and imperfect” evidence of the early history of the Koh-i-Noor before the 1740s, that can directly tie it to any ancient diamond.

There is no record of its original weight, but the earliest attested weight is 186 old carats (191 metric carats or 38.2 g). The first verifiable record of the diamond comes from a history by Muhammad Kazim Marvi of the 1740s Invasion of Northern India. Marvi notes that the Koh-i-Noor as being one of many stones on the Mughal Peacock Throne that Nader Shah looted from Delhi.

Queen Victoria wearing the Koh-i-Noor diamond as a brooch

The diamond then changed hands between various empires in south and west Asia, until being given to Queen Victoria after the British East India Company’s annexation of the Punjab region in 1849, during the reign of the then 11-year-old Maharaja of the Sikh Empire Duleep Singh, who had previously possessed the stone.

Originally, the stone was of a similar cut to other Mughal-era diamonds, like the Daria-i-Noor, which are now in the Iranian Crown Jewels.

Crown of Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother

In 1851 the Koh-i-Noor went on display at the Great Exhibition in London, but the lackluster cut failed to impress viewers. Queen Victoria’s husband, Prince Albert, ordered it to be re-cut as an oval brilliant by Coster Diamonds.

Under the supervision of Prince Albert and the Duke of Wellington, and the technical direction of the queen’s mineralogist, James Tennant, the cutting took thirty-eight days.

Queen Elizabeth and King George VI

Prince Albert spent a total of £8,000 on the operation, which reduced the weight of the diamond from 186 old carats (191 modern carats or 38.2 g) to its current 105.6 carats (21.12 g). The stone measures 3.6 cm (1.4 in) long, 3.2 cm (1.3 in) wide, and 1.3 cm (0.5 in) deep. Brilliant-cut diamonds usually have fifty-eight facets, but the Koh-i-Noor has eight additional “star” facets around the culet, making a total of sixty-six facets.

Since arriving in the UK, it has only been worn by female members of the Royal Family. Queen Victoria wore the stone in a brooch and a circlet. After she died in 1901, it was set in the Crown of Queen Alexandra, born a Princess of Denmark and the wife of King Edward VII of the United Kingdom.

The Koh-i-Noor was transferred to the Crown of Queen Mary in 1911, and finally to the Crown of Queen Elizabeth, The Queen Mother in 1937 for her coronation.

The Koh-i-Noor has long been a subject of diplomatic controversy, with India, Pakistan, Iran, and Afghanistan all demanding its return from the UK at various points.

Possible compromises

Queen Mary and King George V

Because of the quadripartite dispute over the diamond’s rightful ownership, there have been various compromises suggested to bring the dispute to an end. These include dividing the diamond into four, with a piece given to each of Afghanistan, India, and Pakistan, with the final piece retained by the British Crown.

Queen Alexandra

Another suggestion is that the jewel be housed in a special museum at the Wagah border between India and Pakistan. However this suggestion does not cater to Afghan claims, nor the reality of current British possession. The British Government rejects these compromises, and has stated since the end of the British Raj that the status of the diamond is ‘non-negotiable’.

A spokesman for Indian Prime Minister Narenda Modi recently said the jewel “brings back painful memories of the colonial past.”

Queen Consort is not a Title!

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King George V, queen, Queen Anne, Queen Camilla, Queen Consort, Queen Elizabeth II, Queen Mary, Queen Regnant, Queen Victoria

From the Emperor’s Desk: This is an expanded article I wrote previously here on my blog.

Queen Consort is not a title. The title of a female monarch is simply “Queen”. The term Consort distinguishes what type of Queen a person is.

There are two types of Queens. A Queen Regnant or a Queen Consort. (There are actually more but for this issue I’ll just talk about two).

Queen Elizabeth II was a Queen Regnant. A Queen Regnant is a Sovereign Queen in whom all the powers of the Crown are invested in, and who inherited the throne through hereditary succession.

Other than Queen Elizabeth II other Queen Regnants are Queen Victoria (1837 – 1901), Queen Anne (1702 – 1714), Queen Elizabeth I (1558 – 1603) to name just a few.

So absolutely nobody is claiming Camilla is a Queen Regnant!! It really goes without saying she is a Queen Consort because it’s pretty common knowledge that the wife of a King is a Queen Consort. So, since we know Camilla is a Queen Consort the question becomes how do we address her and refer to her?

In the past every single Queen Consort was simply refered to as Her Majesty, the Queen. For example, Queen Mary, the wife of King George V was addressed as Her Majesty, the Queen or just Queen Mary.

Since Camilla is absolutely the same as every other Queen Consort in history, the proper way to refer to a Queen Consort is to call her Her Majesty, the Queen. Calling her Queen Camilla is also acceptable.

Her title is not a lesser new title created just her….it’s pretty ancient and goes back to the Anglo-Saxon period.

When Queen Elizabeth II said in her statement that it was her “most sincere wish that, when the time comes, Camilla will be known as Queen Consort as she continues her own loyal service.” it seems to have caused some confusion. She wasn’t creating a new title or a new way of referencing a Queen Consort, she was simply distinguishing the type of Queen Camilla would be as apposed to the type of Queen she was, a Queen Regnant.

Are Diana Supporters Stuck In the Past?

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Diana, King Charles III of the United Kingdom, Lady Diana Spencer, Moving On, Prince Charles, Prince of Wales, Princess of Wales, Queen Camilla

From the Emperor’s Desk: I tend not to address to much controversy or even controversial topics. However, I want to address one and that is connected to the hatred toward Queen Camilla from people who loved and admired Diana, Princess of Wales. I see this brought up again and again across social media.

My educational background isn’t just in European History, I have a Master’s Degree in Mental Health Counseling. So today I am wearing that hat.

For people that are upset over Queen Camilla’s role in the demise of the marriage of Diana and Charles, her death is keeping people stuck.

The tragic death of Diana has prevented some people from moving on. They’re stuck back in the past of the divorce between Diana and Charles.

Diana was in a relationship when she died so it looks like she had moved on. But had she lived, she most likely would have remarried and would be having a very meaningful life right now. If that had happened…Diana living a full life… I’m sure all those who loved and admired her would have been able to have closure and move on. They would be able to let go of their anger and resentments towards Camilla, because with Diana alive and happy, there would be no reason to hold onto their anger and resentments.

Also, even though Diana never did live a full life, or longer life, still is not justification for holding onto anger and resentments towards Camilla. The main reason being holding on to anger hurts nobody but yourself. There is an old saying that anger is like holding a hot coal in your hand, it only Burns you. Also, another old saying is, that hanging onto resentment is like drinking poison and hoping the other person dies. Again hanging onto anger and resentment will only harm yourself. Aren’t you important enough to let go of the resentment?

Many divorced couples, though not all, do have a reconciliation where the ex-wife and ex-husband forgive one another and even form a friendship. I know that happened with my ex-wife and I. I firmly believe that Charles and Diana would have arrived at that point too….but sadly her death prevented that which is another component keeping people stuck. If people witnessed Diana and Charles putting the past behind them and moving forward then those who supported Diana would be able to do the same.

So sadly, because people never saw Diana move on and have a full life, many are stuck back in the past unable to move forward. That’s not a good place to be.

Queen Consort: What Does The Title Mean?

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Her Majesty the Queen, King Charles III of the United Kingdom, King Felipe II of Spain, Queen Camilla, Queen Consort, Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom, Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother, Queen Regnant

With accession of HM King Charles III of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland there is some confusion as to the title of his wife, the former Duchess of Cornwall.

His Majesty the King

The late Queen, Elizabeth II, in a statement marking her platinum jubilee, said she wants Prince Charles’ wife, Camilla, to be known as the “Queen Consort” when he takes the throne.

Previously, when Charles, as Prince of Wales, married Camilla in 2005 she took the title Duchess of Cornwall (Duke of Cornwall being one of her husband’s secondary titles) instead of Princess of Wales, which she legally had but did not use out of respect for the late Diana, Princess of Wales.

It was also stated at the time that when Charles became King his wife would adopt the title Princess Consort instead of Queen. So the late Queen Elizabeth II stating her wish that the Duchess of Cornwall should be Queen Consort did pave the way for accepting Camilla as Queen.

Her Majesty the Queen

However, now that Camilla is Queen there seems to be mass confusion about her title. Both British and American Press are calling her “Queen Consort.” Heck, even the website for the British Monarchy is calling Camilla, Queen Consort.

It really is unnecessary.

Simply, A Queen Consort is the wife of a reigning king. Let me state further, all wives of reigning Kings in British history have been a Queen Consort.

A Queen Consort usually shares her spouse’s social rank and status. She holds the feminine equivalent of the king’s monarchical titles and may be crowned and anointed, but historically she does not formally share the regnant’s political and military powers, unless on occasion acting as regent.

There is another type Queen. This type of Queen is called a Queen Regnant. A Queen Regnant is a female monarch who rules in her own right and usually becomes queen by inheriting the throne upon the death of the previous monarch.

Some examples of Queen Regnants are: Queen Elizabeth II (1952 – 2022), Queen Victoria (1837 – 1991) and Queen Mary II (1689 – 1694).

Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother

A Queen Dowager is the widow of a king, and a queen mother is a former Queen Consort who is the mother of the current monarch. Queen Elizabeth II’s mother was a former Queen Consort who didn’t care for the title Queen Dowager and instead took the title of Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother.

Let me state again that Camilla is a Queen Consort as opposed to a Queen Regnant. That is not part of the debate or question.

But what is at issue is how to address her or how to reference her...

The truth is that when it comes to addressing either a Queen Consort or a Queen Regnant there is absolutely no difference, no distinction, whatsoever and both are simply refered to as “Her Majesty the Queen” despite the differences.

I’m going to repeat this for emphasis: The truth is that when it comes to addressing either a Queen Consort or a Queen Regnant there is absolutely no difference, no distinction, whatsoever and both are simply refered to as “Her Majesty the Queen” despite the differences.

Many online seem to believe that the title “Queen Consort” has been created specially for Camilla and that this is something new. It is not. Camilla is one of a long line of Queen Consorts as the wife of British Kings.

These include: Queen Alexandra, wife of King Edward VII, Queen Mary, wife of King George V, just to name a few.

I believe however, calling Camilla “Queen Consort” may serve two purposes. The first is to differentiate her from Queen Elizabeth II and not to confuse people. Second, using the title Queen Consort may help people get used to her having this new title.

King Felipe II of Spain, King of England and Ireland

Incidentally there are also King Regnants and King Consorts. However, England has had only one King Consort. King Felipe II of Spain who was a King Consort during his marriage to Queen Mary I, daughter of King Henry VIII.

In Scotland there have been two King Consorts. Both were husband’s of Queen Mary I of Scotland. Her first husband was King François II of France and the second was Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley.

HM the King returns to Buckingham Palace

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Buckingham Palace, King Charles III of the United Kingdom, Queen Camilla

King Charles III traveled from Balmoral Castle in Scotland to Buckingham Palace in London marking his first arrival as king to the administrative center of the monarchy. He greeted cheering crowds gathered outside the palace as some sang “God save the king.”

At 6:00pm his Majesty will address the nation.

Thier Majesties King Charles III and Queen Camilla

Queen Announces Desire for the Duchess of Cornwall to be known as Queen Camilla

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Queen Camilla, Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom, Royal Accession, The Duchess of Cornwall, the prince of Wales

Buckingham Palace has released a message from her majesty the queen on the occasion of her Platinum Jubilee that it is her desire that the Duchess of Cornwall be known as Queen Camilla when it is her time for the Prince of Wales and Camilla to ascend the throne.

In 2005 when the Prince of Wales married Camilla it was announced she would be known as “Princess Consort” upon Charles’s accession to the throne.

Legally The Duchess of Cornwall will be Queen Consort upon the accession of the Prince of Wales because it would take an Act of Parliament to remove the title of Queen. In the announcement by Her Majesty the Queen it makes the rightful transition much smoother for The Duchess of Cornwall to become Queen Consort.