The past 12 months has seen great changes in the lives of members of the royal family, with none being more so affected—apart from King Charles—than his wife, Camilla.
When the royal celebrated her 75th birthday on July 17, 2022, she did so as Duchess of Cornwall. One year later, she celebrates her 76th birthday as a queen.
Here, Newsweek looks at Camilla's historic year in photographs, from her last engagement before her husband's accession to the throne, to her own coronation at Westminster Abbey.
Highland Games
One of Camilla's last official engagements as Duchess of Cornwall was made with the then Prince Charles to view the annual Braemar Highland Gathering near Balmoral Castle on September 3, 2022. The meeting featured a program of traditional Scottish games, including caber tossing. Charles and Camilla attended in the place of Queen Elizabeth II, who at the time was stated to be experiencing "episodic mobility problems."
State Funeral for Queen Elizabeth II
When Queen Elizabeth II died at Balmoral on September 8, 2022, her eldest son Charles became King Charles III in her place. As Charles' wife, Camilla became his Queen Consort, a title informally shortened by tradition to simply "Queen Camilla."
As the new queen, Camilla supported her husband through the official mourning events for Elizabeth, which included attending the state funeral at Westminster Abbey and committal service at Windsor Castle on September 19.
State Visit for President of South Africa
The first state visit of Charles and Camilla's reign was made in November by South African President Cyril Ramaphosa. On November 22, the king and queen held a state banquet in the president's honor. For the occasion, Camilla wore a tiara that had been left in the private collection of Queen Elizabeth II.
Violence Against Women And Girls at Buckingham Palace
On November 29, 2022, Queen Camilla hosted a reception at Buckingham Palace raising awareness for violence against women and girls, a cause she has supported throughout her royal life. The event was at the center of a palace race storm when afterwards a guest recounted a racist experience she had with a royal aide.
Diplomatic Reception at Buckingham Palace
The annual royal diplomatic reception at Buckingham Palace was revived by King Charles and Queen Camilla on December 6, 2022, after a break of two years owing to the COVID pandemic and then the ill-health of the late queen.
Charles and Camilla welcomed the world ambassadors stationed in London for the occasion, as well as British diplomats and high-ranking members of government.
State Visit to Germany
Charles and Camilla made their first overseas state visit in March 2023, to Germany. The visit had initially included a stop in Paris beforehand but this was canceled due to rioting in the French capital following opposition to President Macron's raising of the national age of retirement.
On March 29, the royals attended a state banquet at the Schloss Bellevue, hosted by the President Frank-Walter Steinmeier. Queen Camilla wore a tiara that had belonged to the late Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother.
Eurovision Song Contest
Ahead of the 2023 Eurovision Song Contest, which was held in Liverpool, England, on behalf of 2022 winners, Ukraine, King Charles and Camilla officially unveiled the arena staging for the event.
On April 26, the king and queen visited the M&S Bank Arena for the unveiling and also filmed a short cameo which was played during the event's opening ceremony.
Coronation Ceremony
The most important ceremonial day in Queen Camilla's year, and arguably life, came on May 6, 2023. The coronation day saw the royal dress in a long formal gown designed by Bruce Oldfield, and don the historic robes last worn by Elizabeth II, as she was crowned queen alongside King Charles.
The day's events included carriage processions to and from the abbey where 2,000 invited guests watched with millions more viewing on TV, and closed with an areal flypast and Buckingham Palace balcony appearance.
Coronation Concert
The day after the coronation, a large concert was held in the grounds of Windsor Castle where pop acts including Lionel Richie and Katy Perry performed as part of the celebrations.
Camilla and King Charles attended in the royal box alongside members of their families including the Prince and Princess of Wales.
Trooping the Colour
For the annual Trooping the Colour celebrations, the first of Charles and Camilla as king and queen, the couple took part in the ceremonial procession to Horse Guards Parade to watch the military pageant and took an aerial salute from the balcony of Buckingham Palace.
For the occasion, the queen wore a red dress designed by Fiona Clare, which took inspiration from military uniform.
Royal Ascot
Queen Camilla is known to have a love of horseracing and for the 2023 Royal Ascot horseracing event the new king and queen surprised fans by attending all five days of the sporting festival.
Accompanied by friends and official guests, Charles and Camilla had a number of horses entered in the races with Desert Hero, bred by the late Queen Elizabeth, winning the King George V Stakes.
James Crawford-Smith is Newsweek's royal reporter, based in London. You can find him on Twitter at @jrcrawfordsmith and read his stories on Newsweek's The Royals Facebook page.
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About the writer
James Crawford-Smith is a Newsweek Royal Reporter, based in London, U.K. His focus is reporting on the British royal family ... Read more
