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The Queen Consort will be by the King’s side when he is formally crowned next year.

Camilla will also be anointed and crowned during the ceremony for King Charles III at Westminster Abbey on 6 May 2023.

What will happen at the King’s coronation?

While plans for his investiture have been in place since his mother’s coronation in 1953, her part was only confirmed when during her Platinum Jubilee the Queen declared Camilla would be known as Queen Consort on King Charles’s accession.

Britain's King Charles and Queen Camilla wave to people after viewing the  tributes at Hillsborough Castle, following the death of Queen Elizabeth, at Royal Hillsborough, Northern Ireland, September 13, 2022. REUTERS/Jason Cairnduff

‘A similar, but simpler ceremony’

Following the King’s six-part coronation ceremony, the Queen Consort will have her own one.

According to the Royal Family’s website: “A Queen Consort is crowned with the King, in a similar, but simpler ceremony.”

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The last Queen Consort to be crowned was the Queen Mother alongside King George VI in 1937.

The Archbishop of Canterbury anointed her head with holy oil – a ritual also carried out with the monarch.

The Queen’s ring was then placed on her hand, her crown on her head, before she was presented with a sceptre and an ivory rod.

It ended with her bowing “reverently” to her husband.

Camilla will also be anointed with holy oil and crowned.

Why is Camilla Queen Consort?

File photo dated 09/04/2005 of Prince Charles, the Prince of Wales, and Camilla the Duchess of Cornwall, leave St George's Chapel, Windsor, following the blessing of their wedding. The Queen has used her Platinum Jubilee message to the nation to back the Duchess of Cornwall as Queen Camilla, shaping the future of the monarchy on her historic milestone. Issue date: Sunday February 6, 2022.

When the King and Queen Consort married in 2005 – eight years after the death of Diana, Princess of Wales – she let it be known that she intended to use the title “princess consort”. It would be a first in the history of the British monarchy.

The decision was seen as an acknowledgment that the public was finding it difficult to accept her new role, after years of speculation in the media over their affair, the bitter divorce of Charles and Diana, and Diana’s death in 1997.

For the same reason, upon marrying King Charles, who was Prince of Wales at the time, she decided not to use the Princess of Wales title, which had been used by Diana.

Instead, she chose the Duchess of Cornwall, styling herself on her husband’s other title the Duke of Cornwall, which is always given to the heir presumptive.

Reflecting on the negative press she received during that period, in an interview with British Vogue, Camilla admitted it “wasn’t easy”.

“I was scrutinised for such a long time that you just have to find a way to live with it,” she said.

“Nobody likes to be looked at all the time and, you know, criticised… but I think in the end, I sort of rise above it and get on with it.”

Civil wedding

Britain's Prince Charles, and his bride Camilla  Duchess of Cornwall, at front centre, with the Duke of Edinburgh, front right, with other members of the Royal Family as they  leave St George's Chapel in Windsor, England following the church blessing of their civil wedding ceremony, Saturday, April 9, 2005. The members of the Royal Family  standing behind Prince Charles and the Duchess are from left, Princess Eugenie, Prince Andrew, Princess Beatrice, Princess Anne, Peter Phillips. Prince Harry,

At the time, there were also legal questions surrounding the validity of the couple’s civil wedding – which might have added to the decision to opt for princess consort.

They married in a civil ceremony at Windsor Guildhall. But under the Marriage Acts 1753 the only type of marriage valid for a member of the Royal Family is a religious one.

In 2005, the Lord Chancellor sought to defend the validity of their marriage, but Palace aides feared that breaking precedent could have meant more unwanted legal challenges over other titles in the future.

Princess Consort or Queen Consort?

According to common law, wives of kings are known as queen consorts, but the husbands of queens only prince consorts.

As a result, the Duke of Edinburgh was known as Prince Philip – and not given the title of King when he married the Queen.

He did not have his own coronation, but ‘paid homage’ to his wife during her ceremony instead.

Camilla becomes more popular

The Duchess of Cornwall meets members of the public during a visit to Lincoln Farmers Market in Christchurch, on the seventh day of the royal visit to New Zealand.

After the wedding, Camilla’s popularity started to grow – and so did calls by her supporters to make her Queen Consort.

A YouGov poll carried out in late 2021 ranked her as the 10th most popular royal, beating Prince Andrew, whose popularity plummeted due to his association with convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein, and Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie.

Royal author Penny Junor said: “The problem with Camilla was that she was involved with the Prince of Wales and was what Diana famously called the third person in the marriage.”

But she added: “When she then married him, she was out and about and people met her. They realised that actually, she wasn’t this ghastly woman, a rottweiler, she was actually very nice.

“She’s funny, she’s warm, she’s friendly, she’s self-deprecating, she’s interested in other people.”

Royal observers also noted she took on more responsibilities after Andrew, Harry and Meghan stepped back from royal duties.

The King is long thought to have favoured the title of Queen Consort. According to Sky News royal correspondent Rhiannon Mills, while the issue hadn’t occupied his mind “on a weekly basis”, it was nonetheless “something he wanted addressed”.

The debate over Camilla’s title could have also acted as an unwelcome distraction at the start of his reign, she adds.

Queen’s Jubilee statement ended years of uncertainty

Queen Elizabeth II (left) and Duchess of Cornwall during the royal procession during day two of Royal Ascot at Ascot Racecourse.

In February 2022, as her Platinum Jubilee celebrations got under way, the Queen surprised the nation by announcing that Camilla would be known as Queen Consort when Charles III took the throne.

She said in a statement: “When, in the fullness of time, my son Charles becomes King, I know you will give him and his wife Camilla the same support that you have given me; and it is my sincere wish that, when the time comes, Camilla will be known as Queen Consort as she continues her own loyal service.”

This effectively put an end to nearly two decades of uncertainty over her position within the Royal Family.

It also served as a way to thank Camilla for years of royal duties – and as recognition the public had warmed to her in that time.

Rhiannon Mills commented: “The Queen clearly wanted to use this opportunity to thank Camilla who over the past 17 years has rolled her sleeves up, embraced the sometimes less glamorous royal engagements and in Her Majesty’s eyes shown herself to be a worthy future consort, in the mould of Prince Philip and the Queen Mother.”

What will her role be?

The Duchess of Cornwall, Patron of BookTrust, reading to schoolchildren during her visit to Griffin Primary School, Nine Elms, London, with Waterstones Children's Laureate, Cressida Cowell (right) to open the new 'Life-changing Library'. Picture date: Tuesday June 21, 2021.

The Queen Consort has taken on a number of causes in recent years, such as raising awareness of domestic violence, sexual abuse or illiteracy.

But royal observers say her main role will be supporting the new King.

“She is to Charles what Prince Philip was to Elizabeth. She is not in competition with him. She is there purely to support him,” said Ms Junor, the royal author.

In her 2022 British Vogue interview Camilla said that balancing her marriage to Charles with their royal work “is not easy sometimes”, but the couple always make sure to “sit down together and have a cup of tea and discuss the day”.

Constitutional expert Craig Prescott described her as the King’s “secret weapon, or not so secret weapon”.

The Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall, during a visit to St MaryÕs Quayside, on St Mary's, Isles of Scilly. Picture date: Tuesday July 20, 2021.

He said: “She has become sort of one of the more interesting members of the Royal Family, taking up interest in causes, domestic violence, the importance of childhood reading, the importance of live theatre during the pandemic, and sort of the need to speak up for the creative industries.

“Despite the difficulty she had in the 90s with the media, she seems very open, very relaxed – and that might be sort of actually the model that the monarchy will take in the future.”

Sir Peter Westmacott, former deputy private secretary of King Charles, also noted the strong bond in the royal couple.

“She has made such a difference to his life all this time. He adores her and vice versa,” he said.

“It is an invaluable partnership.”

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Starmer says UK will ‘set out a path’ to raise defence spending to 2.5%

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Starmer says UK will 'set out a path' to raise defence spending to 2.5%

The UK will “set out a path” to lift defence spending to 2.5% of national income in the spring, the prime minister has said, finally offering a timeframe for an announcement on the long-awaited hike after mounting criticism.

Sir Keir Starmer gave the date during a phone call with Mark Rutte, the secretary general of NATO, in the wake of threats by Moscow to target UK and US military facilities following a decision by London and Washington to let Ukraine fire their missiles inside Russia.

There was no clarity though on when the 2.5% level will be achieved. The UK says it currently spends around 2.3% of GDP on defence.

Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Nato Secretary General Mark Rutte and  Keir Starmer, during a trilateral meeting in 10 Downing Street.
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Ukraine leader Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Sir Keir Starmer and NATO boss Mark Rutte in October. Pic: PA

Ukraine war latest: Follow live updates

A spokeswoman for Downing Street said that the two men “began by discussing the situation in Ukraine and reiterated the importance of putting the country in the strongest possible position going into the winter”.

They also talked about the deployment of thousands of North Korean soldiers to fight alongside Russia.

“The prime minister underscored the need for all NATO countries to step up in support of our collective defence and updated on the government’s progress on the strategic defence review,” the spokeswoman said.

“His government would set out the path to 2.5% in the spring.”

The defence review will also be published in the spring.

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While a date for an announcement on 2.5% will be welcomed by the Ministry of Defence, analysts have long warned that such an increase is still well below the amount that is needed to rebuild the armed forces after decades of decline to meet growing global threats from Russia, an increasingly assertive China, North Korea and Iran.

They say the UK needs to be aiming to hit at least 3% – probably higher.

With Donald Trump returning to the White House, there will be significantly more pressure on the UK and other European NATO allies to accelerate increases in defence spending.

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Gatwick Airport: Police release two people who were detained amid security incident as South Terminal reopens

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Gatwick Airport: Police release two people who were detained amid security incident as South Terminal reopens

Two people detained during a security incident at Gatwick Airport have been allowed to continue their journeys after a suspect package saw a “large part” of the South Terminal evacuated.

The terminal was closed for hours after the discovery of a “suspected prohibited item” in a passenger’s luggage sparked an emergency response. It reopened at around 3.45pm.

Officers from the EOD (Explosive Ordnance Disposal) team “made the package safe” before handing the airport back to its operator, Sussex Police said.

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Passengers at Gatwick Airport after flights were cancelled. Pic: PA
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Passengers at Gatwick Airport after flights were cancelled. Pic: PA

Their statement continued: “Two people who were detained while enquiries were ongoing have subsequently been allowed to continue their journeys.

“There will remain an increased police presence in the area to assist with passengers accessing the South Terminal for onward travel.”

The force also thanked the public and airport staff for their patience while the incident was ongoing.

Earlier the airport, which is the UK’s second busiest, said the terminal was evacuated after a “security incident”.

“The earlier security alert has now been resolved and cleared by police,” it later said in a statement on Friday afternoon.

“The South Terminal is reopening to staff and will be open to passengers shortly.”

Gatwick said some flights were cancelled while others were delayed.

It said passengers should contact their airlines for any updates on flights.

Footage on social media taken outside the airport showed crowds of travellers heading away from the terminal building.

“Arrived at London Gatwick for routine connection. Got through customs to find out they’re evacuating the entire airport,” one passenger said.

“Even people through security are being taken outside. Trains shut down,” another passenger added, who said “thousands” of people were forced to leave.

Another passenger said people near the gates were being told to stay there and not go back to the departure lounge.

People outside the airport were handed blankets and water, passengers told Sky News.

The airport said its North Terminal was still operating normally.

Gatwick Express said its trains did not call at Gatwick Airport during the police response, but the airport said trains would start calling there again once the terminal was fully reopened.

More than 600 flights were due to take off or land at Gatwick on Friday, amounting to more than 121,000 passenger seats, according to aviation analytics firm Cirium.

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As Starmer’s approval rating plummets, Farage is on the rise: Can Labour turn things around?

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As Starmer's approval rating plummets, Farage is on the rise: Can Labour turn things around?

“We are in unchartered territory.”

Sir John Curtice understands polling like few others, but you do not have to be an expert to see the Labour government has had a rough start.

It’s been less than five months since Sir Keir Starmer’s landslide election victory and already two-thirds of Britons say they feel worse off.

That’s according to a new poll from Ipsos, the latest survey to assess public opinion of the new occupants of Downing Street.

And while the prime minister’s favourability rating plummets, Nigel Farage’s is on the rise.

Ipsos favorability towards politicians
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Ipsos favorability towards politicians

“We have never previously had a government starting with quite as low a share of the vote Labour got in July,” Sir John tells Sky News, referring to the party’s 174-seat majority despite a modest vote share of just 33.7%

“It’s also difficult to find a government that has slipped as much in the polls as this government has so quickly.”

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Labour are being made to pay for unpopular decisions such as the means testing of the winter fuel payment and PR nightmares like the freebies row.

While “the Conservative party is not that popular”, we are in a new world of multi-party politics where “people have plenty of options, Reform UK is gaining traction”, Sir John adds.

It’s an “unprecedented situation”, and against it Labour face two fundamental difficulties – a leader who “hasn’t got a particularly strong political antenna” and a party “that doesn’t do narrative”.

“Voters are looking for them to fix the country,” Sir John says.

“Inevitably, they can’t in a matter of three to four months but they don’t have a positive narrative to explain why they have done what they have done.

“Their only argument is the Tories hid things and it’s worse than we thought. That’s a debatable proposition.”

But how detrimental is bad polling early on, and is it possible to shift the dial once a perception sets in?

‘They have certainly got time’

According to Keiran Pedley, director of UK Politics at Ipsos, “there’s not a hard and fast rule”.

Two in five people feel worse off since Labour got elected.
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Two in five people feel worse off since Labour got elected.

He says: “If you look at past prime ministers, there are some that start at a certain level, and they fall gradually over time, and they lose an election or get replaced, like Rishi Sunak or Theresa May.

“But there are other examples where it’s not as linear – Margaret Thatcher, Tony Blair, David Cameron, their popularity ebbed and flowed.”

To some degree, this was all circumstantial. Thatcher was bolstered by the Falklands War, for example, while the perceived weaknesses of then Labour leader Ed Miliband helped Cameron bounce back from his austerity-hit approval ratings to win the 2015 election.

“These things are all relative to how competently the opposition are seen as well,” Mr Pedley says.

“Given Labour are not six months into what might be a five-year term they have certainly got time.”

‘Public is giving Labour a chance’

Indeed, some Labour insiders are not fazed by the polls, hoping the public will stick with them over time as they start to feel the benefits of the government’s longer-term pledges like growing the economy and investing in the NHS.

According to Luke Tryl, director of thinktank More in Common, there is evidence the public is giving them some grace on this front.

The polling might be grim, but in focus groups, he says people seem willing to “give them the benefit of the doubt”.

He said: “They will say ‘I am not that happy with what they have done so far, but I am willing to give them a chance’.”

That does not mean being complacent, however.

Mr Tryl says the next election is likely to come down to three metrics: Do people think the weekly shop is more affordable, can people get a GP appointment more easily, have the small boats stopped or at least reduced?

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Mr Tryl says Labour will want to start making some progress on those issues long before voters next go to the polls – perhaps even within a year – or else the mood against the party could “crystalise”.

“They could find themselves in a situation like Joe Biden, who actually had lots of popular policy but [by the election campaign], the mood had crystallised against him, it was too late.”

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How the polls ‘got the US election wrong’

‘Learn lessons from America’

James Matthewson, a Labour spokesman during the Jeremy Corbyn era, also urged Starmer to learn lessons from across the Atlantic.

He believes the prime minister “absolutely can turn things around”, but that requires “defining what a centre-left government should look like”.

“They cannot look like the same old establishment. They need to look sensible and moderate but at the same time show they are different.”

That’s not an easy task he admits, and one Starmer’s predecessor, Mr Corbyn, failed to pull off with his huge fiscal spending programme that was rejected at the 2019 election.

Democratic presidential nominee U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris reacts as she delivers remarks, conceding 2024 U.S. presidential election to President-elect Donald Trump, at Howard University in Washington, U.S., November 6, 2024. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque
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Labour need to learn from the Democrats’ losses, say pollsters

With even less room for manoeuvre on public spending than then, Mr Matthewson says Labour need to define their values with policies that are bold and socially progressive – but don’t cost the earth.

“The private school tax policy is a clear example of this kind of thing,” he says. “Most people don’t send their kids to private schools, and most people like that. It’s a thing of values.”

Drug reform and democratic reform are other areas Labour could tap into to distinguish themselves from the Tories, he adds – warning Mr Farage will be “emboldened” by Donald Trump’s victory, and that poses a huge risk at the next UK election.

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100 days of Starmer

Their “core narrative”, he says, is “there is a left-wing establishment ruling the world”.

“It’s nonsense, but it’s the narrative that works. And the more you look like that, the more you’re trying to be responsible and fill the shoes of the previous government, the more you fall into that trap.”

Can Labour bounce back?

Of course, while Mr Biden had four years, Mr Starmer has five – so for now at least, time is indeed on his side.

As Sir John reminds us, there’s only really one event a leader cannot recover from – which Liz Truss knows all too well.

“If you preside over a market crisis, it’s game over – you are dead,” he says.

“Other than that, it’s delivery, delivery, delivery.”

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