The Duchess of Cornwall dazzles at the State Opening of Parliament

Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, was with her husband Prince Charles as she delivered the Queen’s Speech for the State Opening of Parliament on Tuesday.

The Prince of Wales stood in for his mother, Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth, for the first time after the 96-year-old monarch was forced to pull out of the ceremonial event due to what Buckingham Palace called “episodic issues of mobility”.

Prince Charles has attended the State Opening of Parliament in previous years, but this was the first time he represented the monarch and delivered the Queen’s Speech.

Read more: Queen’s Speech 2022: Why isn’t the Queen attending the ceremony?

The Prince of Wales took the throne usually to the left of Her Majesty’s throne (the consort’s throne) and was flanked by the Duchess of Cornwall and the Duke of Cambridge, as the Queen’s throne remained empty.

The Duchess of Cornwall wore a navy blue coat dress with detailed silver embroidery for the day’s events as the Prince performed Her Majesty’s ceremonial duties.

Read more: The Queen will miss the opening of Parliament

Camilla, 74, opted for a matching navy silk taffeta undercoat dress, which featured an A-line pleated skirt and tailored lapels.

The Duchess chose a navy raffia hat with a bright white hat band, accessorised with a navy leather bag and cream and black block heels. She also wore her four-strand pearl necklace with a large diamond clasp in a cross pattern, which became her necklace of choice for important occasions.

Camilla previously wore the pearl necklace at the State Opening of Parliament in 2016, when she wore a white dress and Queen Elizabeth II’s blue Royal Victorian Order and Greville tiara, loaned to the duchess on her 2005 marriage to Prince Charles.

Camilla also previously attended the State Opening of Parliament in 2021, where she wore an elegant all-white outfit with a matching white face mask for the first State Opening since the COVID-19 pandemic forced the 2020 opening to be canceled .

She opted for the same pair of cream block heels with a black tip for the occasion and coordinated with a light cream hat, clutch and gloves.

Watch: Prince Charles joined by Duchess of Cornwall and Duke of Cambridge at State Opening of Parliament