Duty calls for the Queen as she celebrates her 77th birthday
Camilla's birthday has coincided with the State Opening of Parliament
Last updated 17th Jul 2024
The Queen won't be getting a day off for her 77th birthday as she prepares to attend the State Opening of Parliament alongside her husband.
Camilla’s big day has coincided with political pageantry which will see the King and Queen travel in a carriage procession to the House of Lords, where Charles will deliver the second King’s Speech of his reign.
The Queen was spotted with a bandage on her right foot while visiting Guernsey on Tuesday during the royal couple’s whirlwind tour to the Channel Islands.
She was also holding a closed umbrella, despite the sunshine, and appeared to be using it for a little extra support.
The Queen was said to have suffered a slight ankle sprain at some stage on Monday when she was carrying out engagements on Jersey.
But it is understood she still plans to attend the State Opening on Wednesday.
It will require Camilla to scale the 26 steps of the royal staircase at the Sovereign’s Entrance before moving into the Robing Room and then processing at the King’s side through the Royal Gallery and the Lords Chamber ahead of taking their seats on their thrones.
She could however opt to take the lift like the late Queen – missing out the royal staircase.
In 2016 – the year she turned 90 – Queen Elizabeth II used the lift rather than stairs for the first time to enter Parliament for the State Opening, with the modest adjustment made for her comfort due to knee pain
Gun salutes will be fired in celebration of Camilla’s anniversary as is the tradition.
But this year they will follow those marking the King’s arrival at the Sovereign’s Entrance of the Lords which signals the State Opening of Parliament has begun.
The second 41-gun salute for Camilla, also by the King’s Troop Horse Artillery in Green Park, will be staged shortly after the first batch, following a brief pause.
There will also be rounds fired at the Tower of London.
Who is Queen Camilla?
The Queen, formerly the Duchess of Cornwall and Camilla Parker Bowles, was born Camilla Rosemary Shand on July 17 1947.
She married Charles, then-Prince of Wales, in 2005 after a relationship that spanned more than 30 years.
The pair have faced a difficult year with the King being diagnosed with cancer after surgery on his prostate in January, and then Charles’s daughter-in-law the Princess of Wales also being treated for the disease.
The Queen was dubbed the monarchy’s “saviour” and praised for keeping “the show on the road” in the King’s absence while he was away from public-facing duties until April this year.
Camilla has carved out her own royal role through charity work, championing literacy, and highlighting the problem of domestic abuse and sexual violence.
She became Queen when Charles acceded to the throne in 2022, and she was secretly nursing a broken toe when she carried out her first duties as the new Queen consort.
She was crowned at her husband’s side during their coronation in 2023.