In this week’s royal updates, Queen Camilla Parker Bowles wears the crown jewels for her husband’s coronation, Kate Middleton’s hug is scrutinized and King Charles visits earthquake volunteers in London.
Latest Royal News
Camilla wears Queen Mary’s Crown
Britain’s Queen Camilla will wear Queen Mary’s Crown at her and King Charles III’s coronation in early May, Buckingham Palace said on Tuesday.
The crown is more than a century old and was commissioned by Queen Mary for her coronation in 1911 alongside King George V. It will be transformed for the landmark ceremony on 6 May.
This is the first time in recent history that an existing crown will be used for the coronation of the empress instead of a new commission being created, according to the palace.
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He said the move was being made “in the interest of sustainability and efficiency”.
The crown will be set with several Cullinan diamonds – cut from the largest diamond ever mined when it was discovered in South Africa in 1905 – as a tribute to the late Queen Elizabeth II.
The diamond was part of her personal jewelry collection for many years and she often wore it as a brooch.
WATCH: Camilla wears Queen Mary’s crown
Some of these diamonds were set in the Crown of Queen Mary for her coronation in 1911 and for the coronation of King George VI in 1937, when it was worn as a regal circlet.
It has been removed from the usual view of the Tower of London for modification, which will also include some other minor changes and additions by the crown jewels.
Four of the eight removable arches will be removed to create a new impression, unlike the 1911.
King Charles will wear St Edward’s Crown for the coronation service at Westminster Abbey. It has been modified and returned to public display at the Tower of London.
The Queen Consort tested positive for Covid-19 earlier this week.
“After suffering from cold symptoms, Her Majesty the Queen has tested positive for the Covid virus,” said a statement from the palace.
As a result, he has canceled all public engagements for this week.
Kate Middleton’s ‘hug’
Princess of Wales Kate Middleton’s body language and affection during public engagements are under scrutiny after her hug with a former history teacher went viral.
There is an assumption among royal observers and fans of Meghan Markle and Prince Harry that Kate Middleton and her husband, the Prince of Wales, Prince William’s approach to royal engagement is very different.
It is thought that Kate and William are more formal and tied to maintain a “stiff British upper lip” while Meghan and Harry are more informal, private and loving when it comes to royal engagement with the public.
WATCH: Kate Middleton’s viral hug
Last week, Kate was captured on video hugging her former prep school history teacher, Jim Embury, during a visit to the University of St Andrews in Scotland.
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Kate beamed as she hugged and was informed by Mr. Showbiz that he has carried out his teachings to his children.
“What you taught me, now I teach my children,” he said.
According to reports, the mother of three had no idea Embury was coming, while the teacher was aware of Kate’s appearance that day.
Twitter commentators couldn’t help but scrutinize the interaction and compare Kate’s changed approach to Meghan’s. Kate and Embury haven’t seen each other in 25 years.
There are also theories that Kate and William’s latest appearance is a publicity stunt, as the debate on social media is divisive. Some critics consider Kate to be perfecting Meghan’s style and approach to royal duties.
King Charles visits Turkey and Syria earthquake volunteers in London
The King visited volunteers in West London on Wednesday, seeing what they were doing to help Turkish citizens fleeing the country. This follows a devastating and deadly earthquake that has killed more than 33,000 people, including in Syria.
On February 6, an earthquake with a magnitude of 7.8 occurred near the Turkish city of Gaziantep, near the border with Syria.
The quake sparked outrage in the affected areas and left millions homeless.
The King said he was “very sorry” for the disaster and visited the center housing the citizens of Syria and Türkiye affected by the earthquake.
WATCH: King Charles is emotional as he visits earthquake volunteers in West London
Compiled by Sandisiwe Mbhele, additional reporting by AFP