The understated power of Queen Consort Camilla

The coronation of King Charles III will also cap Camilla's remarkable journey from the sidelines to Queen Consort, Anne McElvoy examines her rise

- Anne McElvoy

WHEN the diamond-encrusted W crown last worn at the inauguration of a monarch by Queen Mary, George V's wife, at his coronation in 1911, is placed on Camilla's white-blonde locks alongside her husband at the Coronation in May, the moment will mark the final transition of the Elizabethan age to the reign of King Charles III. It also sidesteps the need to use the crown containing the Koh-iNoor jewel, whose ownership is disputed, thereby fending off a row with India and others. The new Queen will have underlined her regal status - sealing a new chapter amid the transitions of the House of Windsor.

The woman once kept on the sidelines as Charles's mistress is now firmly inked into the ultimate female role of prominence in the royal pecking order: Queen Camilla.

Currently mourning the sad death of her brother-in-law Simon Elliot, Camilla will in the coming weeks be established in her new position. How she got there is a mix of charm, pragmatism and what one courtier - who was involved in how to handle the "evolution" of her regal title described as "a will of iron, and tenacity to go with it; Camilla never gives up."

That ability to bend unfavourable situations to her advantage and a reputation for earthy humour has put her in good stead for gaining public acceptance and a team of followers inside the royal household, who view her as key to Charles's happiness.

One head of a diplomatic service who who sat next to her at a long banquet recalls her "rolling her eyes jokily as the speeches got underway and quipping, 'Sorry if it goes on a bit." Interviewed last summer for Vogue, she sympathised with the photographer for having to shoot "an old bat", and said she did not want to wear the usual "menopause mauve" of well-born older ladies, adding, "Who wants to be 75, really?"