The title Queen Camilla has been used for the first time in an official capacity, appearing on invitations for King Charles III's coronation.
She had been referred to as the queen consort since the death of Queen Elizabeth II but is named as Queen Camilla alongside King Charles on the invitations, which are due to be sent to more than 2,000 guests.
The move marks the incredible journey of Queen Camilla over more than five decades, from romantic involvement, to mistress and finally wife of the king — and will end with her formally being crowned queen alongside the king.
Heir to the throne Prince George will play an important role in the coronation of his grandfather, alongside seven schoolboys, all named as pages of honour, who will “attend their majesties during the coronation service”.
The group is made up of family friends and close relatives of King Charles and his wife, including three of the queen’s grandchildren, and will be expected to carry the robes of prominent figures during the day.
With the coronation almost a month away, a new double portrait of the king and queen, wearing a Fiona Clare dress, has been released, showing them smiling in Buckingham Palace’s blue drawing room in an image taken by Hugo Burnand, a favourite photographer of the royal family.
A royal 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 invitation was printed on recycled card and elaborately decorated with foliage in a design by heraldic artist and manuscript illuminator Andrew Jamieson, a brother of the Art Workers’ Guild, of which the king is an honorary member.
The Green Man, an ancient figure from British folklore symbolic of spring and rebirth, is the inspiration behind the design of the coronation invitation.
The elaborately decorated artwork features a colourful abundance of wildflowers and wildlife, with the head of the Green Man as its central motif to celebrate the start of the new reign.
The Green Man appears at the foot of the official invitation for the ceremony on May 6, crowned in natural foliage and formed with leaves of oak, ivy and hawthorn, and the UK’s emblematic flowers.
The British wildflower meadow bordering the invitation includes lily of the valley, cornflowers, wild strawberries, dog roses, bluebells and a sprig of rosemary for remembrance, seemingly in memory of the late queen, together with wildlife including a bee, a butterfly, a ladybird, a wren and a robin.
Flowers appear in groupings of three, signifying the king becoming Charles III — the third monarch of his name.
The king is known for his love of nature and his years of campaigning against climate change.
A lion, a unicorn and a boar — taken from the coats of arms of King Charles and his consort — can be seen among the flowers.
The invitation reads: “The Coronation of Their Majesties King Charles III & Queen Camilla — By Command of the King the Earl Marshall is directed to invite … to be present at the Abbey Church of Westminster on 6th day of May 2023.”
There had been speculation about what title she would hold when King Charles acceded to the throne, but the late queen put the rumours to bed in February last year when she said it was her “sincere wish that, when that time comes, Camilla will be known as queen consort”.
Her three grandsons, twin boys Gus and Louis, aged 13, by her daughter Laura Lopes, and 12-year-old Frederick, by son Tom Parker Bowles, as well as her great-nephew, Arthur Elliot, 11, will be the queen’s pages of honour.
The king’s pages are his grandson Prince George, aged nine; Nicholas Barclay, 13, grandson of Sarah Troughton one of the Queen’s Companions; Lord Oliver Cholmondeley, 13, son of the Marquess of Cholmondeley also known as filmmaker David Rocksavage and a friend of the Prince of Wales; and Ralph Tollemache, 12.
All eight schoolboys will form part of the lavish procession that will make its way through the nave of Westminster Abbey.
What is Reform?
Reform is a right-wing, populist party led by Nigel Farage, a former MEP who won a seat in the House of Commons last year at his eighth attempt and a prominent figure in the campaign for the UK to leave the European Union.
It was founded in 2018 and originally called the Brexit Party.
Many of its members previously belonged to UKIP or the mainstream Conservatives.
After Brexit took place, the party focused on the reformation of British democracy.
Former Tory deputy chairman Lee Anderson became its first MP after defecting in March 2024.
The party gained support from Elon Musk, and had hoped the tech billionaire would make a £100m donation. However, Mr Musk changed his mind and called for Mr Farage to step down as leader in a row involving the US tycoon's support for far-right figurehead Tommy Robinson who is in prison for contempt of court.
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
Five expert hiking tips
Always check the weather forecast before setting off
Make sure you have plenty of water
Set off early to avoid sudden weather changes in the afternoon
Wear appropriate clothing and footwear
Take your litter home with you
Western Region Asia Cup T20 Qualifier
Sun Feb 23 – Thu Feb 27, Al Amerat, Oman
The two finalists advance to the Asia qualifier in Malaysia in August
Group A
Bahrain, Maldives, Oman, Qatar
Group B
UAE, Iran, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia
UAE group fixtures
Sunday Feb 23, 9.30am, v Iran
Monday Feb 25, 1pm, v Kuwait
Tuesday Feb 26, 9.30am, v Saudi
UAE squad
Ahmed Raza, Rohan Mustafa, Alishan Sharafu, Ansh Tandon, Vriitya Aravind, Junaid Siddique, Waheed Ahmed, Karthik Meiyappan, Basil Hameed, Mohammed Usman, Mohammed Ayaz, Zahoor Khan, Chirag Suri, Sultan Ahmed
BACK%20TO%20ALEXANDRIA
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirector%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ETamer%20Ruggli%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarring%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ENadine%20Labaki%2C%20Fanny%20Ardant%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E3.5%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
THE SPECS
Touareg Highline
Engine: 3.0-litre, V6
Transmission: 8-speed automatic
Power: 340hp
Torque: 450Nm
Price: Dh239,312
THE SPECS
Engine: 1.5-litre
Transmission: 6-speed automatic
Power: 110 horsepower
Torque: 147Nm
Price: From Dh59,700
On sale: now
T20 World Cup Qualifier fixtures
Tuesday, October 29
Qualifier one, 2.10pm – Netherlands v UAE
Qualifier two, 7.30pm – Namibia v Oman
Wednesday, October 30
Qualifier three, 2.10pm – Scotland v loser of qualifier one
Qualifier four, 7.30pm – Hong Kong v loser of qualifier two
Thursday, October 31
Fifth-place playoff, 2.10pm – winner of qualifier three v winner of qualifier four
Friday, November 1
Semi-final one, 2.10pm – Ireland v winner of qualifier one
Semi-final two, 7.30pm – PNG v winner of qualifier two
Saturday, November 2
Third-place playoff, 2.10pm
Final, 7.30pm
A%20QUIET%20PLACE
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarring%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Lupita%20Nyong'o%2C%20Joseph%20Quinn%2C%20Djimon%20Hounsou%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirector%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EMichael%20Sarnoski%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%204%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
More on Quran memorisation:
The five pillars of Islam
1. Fasting
2. Prayer
3. Hajj
4. Shahada
5. Zakat
A State of Passion
Directors: Carol Mansour and Muna Khalidi
Stars: Dr Ghassan Abu-Sittah
Rating: 4/5
MOUNTAINHEAD REVIEW
Starring: Ramy Youssef, Steve Carell, Jason Schwartzman
Director: Jesse Armstrong
Rating: 3.5/5
What is graphene?
Graphene is extracted from graphite and is made up of pure carbon.
It is 200 times more resistant than steel and five times lighter than aluminum.
It conducts electricity better than any other material at room temperature.
It is thought that graphene could boost the useful life of batteries by 10 per cent.
Graphene can also detect cancer cells in the early stages of the disease.
The material was first discovered when Andre Geim and Konstantin Novoselov were 'playing' with graphite at the University of Manchester in 2004.
