On Tuesday, Buckingham Palace dropped a lot of new information about King Charles and Queen Camilla’s coronation. I’m doing several different stories about all of this, so please don’t threadjack! This story is about, you know, “Queen Camilla.” For months now, we were supposed to call her Queen Consort Camilla, but most English-language outlets dropped the “consort” part two seconds after QEII’s passing. Well, now the palace has formally dropped the “consort” part of Cam’s title too, and they did so on the coronation invitation which was just released last night. The invitation is… colorful. Some might say gaudy?

First she was to be known as Princess Consort. Then she became Queen Consort. But Buckingham Palace’s coronation invitation confirms what most have suspected all along. From now on, it’s officially Queen Camilla. For years, the palace has shied away from answering “the queen” question when asked directly what Camilla would be known as when Charles acceded the throne.

Upon her 2005 marriage to the then Prince of Wales, a statement from Clarence House mooted that she would be known as Princess Consort, such was the sensitivity around the thorny subject. In February last year, Queen Elizabeth II made clear her wish for her daughter-in-law to hold the title Queen Consort.

But the official invitation, being sent out to more than 2,000 guests for the 6 May ceremony at Westminster Abbey, is the last word on the subject. Finally fulfilling Charles’s immutable ambition, it invites recipients to the “Coronation of Their Majesties King Charles III & Queen Camilla”. It marks the incredible journey of Camilla over more than five decades, from secret romantic involvement to official partner and finally wife of the king – and which will end with her formally being crowned queen alongside the new king.

A palace source said: “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. ‘Queen Camilla’ is the appropriate title to set against ‘King Charles’ on the invitation. The coronation is an appropriate time to start using ‘Queen Camilla’ in an official capacity. All former queen consorts have been known as ‘Queen’ plus their first name.”

The royal website will be updated post-coronation to reflect Camilla’s change in title, with Queen Consort being replaced with Queen Camilla, the Palace said.

[From The Guardian]

What’s funny/stupid is that Charles thinks he’s being so slick with this? Like, he really believes he pulled off some brilliant decades-long campaign to ensure that the British people “accept” Queen Camilla, the Sidechick In Chief, the woman who neighed her way into his first marriage. When really, people didn’t “care” about what Camilla was called formally because everyone knows she’s the homewrecker, the side-chick, the mistress-turned-official. As I’ve said for years now, while The Crown never really exposed Charles and Camilla for how dreadful they really were and are, that show completely exposed that their support is a mile wide and an inch deep. Queen Camilla is tolerated, not loved (and she’s barely even tolerated). Just because people aren’t screaming about Queen Sidepiece 24-7, doesn’t make her popular. In fact, Charles and Camilla are both historically unpopular. And so is their Struggle Chubbly.

The palace also released a new portrait of Charles and Queen Camilla. Too much blue – instead of coordinating, they’re too matchy.

Photos courtesy of Buckingham Palace, Backgrid.