There’s a special coronation honor Queen Camilla will receive in May that won’t be the same as Queen Elizabeth’s on her big day.
- The Coronation Oil that Queen Camilla and King Charles will be anointed with at the coronation ceremony won’t be exactly the same as the late Queen’s.
- There are plenty more luxurious components in the new oil and the decision to make an entirely new batch is a departure from tradition.
- This royal news comes as we revealed the details behind King Charles and Queen Camilla's new special card, including Camilla's $12M in jewels.
With King Charles’ coronation day drawing ever closer the preparations are well underway and several important details have been confirmed, including Queen Camilla’s coronation crown. With Queen Mary’s crown set to have several magnificent diamonds from the late Queen Elizabeth’s collection added, the Queen Consort will be honoring both His Majesty’s late great-grandmother and mother. However, when it comes to Queen Camilla and King Charles’ coronation scent, it seems that there’s one coronation honor Queen Camilla will receive that won’t be quite the same as Queen Elizabeth’s at her own coronation.
Ahead of the ceremony in May the Anointing Oil for the King and Queen Consort’s coronation has now been made and consecrated in Jerusalem. According to the Royal Family website (opens in new tab), this coronation oil was consecrated at The Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem by the Patriarch of Jerusalem, His Beatitude Patriarch Theophilos III and the Anglican Archbishop in Jerusalem, The Most Reverend Hosam Naoum.
Created using olives harvested from groves on the Mount of Olives, the coronation oil has also been perfumed with essential oils. These luxurious components are oils of sesame, rose, jasmine, cinnamon, neroli, benzoin, amber and orange blossom.
The site described this as being “based on” the oil used at Queen Elizabeth’s coronation in 1953 which was a formula used for centuries, though there are some key differences.
The oil will be used to anoint both King Charles and Queen Camilla, but although it was “based on” Queen Elizabeth’s oil it seems several new ingredients have been added. As previously revealed by the Royal Family website (opens in new tab), Queen Elizabeth’s coronation oil contained the oils of roses and cinnamon, but also oranges (not orange blossom), musk and ambergris.
It seems that this time around the special coronation honor Queen Camilla will receive when she’s anointed won’t be quite the same as her late mother-in-law’s in terms of ingredients. Nor will it be the same in a literal sense, though in the past many monarchs were apparently anointed with the exact oil as predecessors.
“Usually a batch is made to last a few Coronations,” the Royal Family website shared, before confirming that Queen Elizabeth also had to have a new batch made for her coronation as in May 1941 a bomb hit the Deanery destroying the phial.
Now Queen Camilla’s anointing oil will be a new batch as well as being a modern take on the original recipe. The Archbishop of Canterbury has expressed his delight that a new oil has been made, revealing he’d long desired this. And for the Archbishop the olive oil was perhaps one of the most meaningful components.
“Since beginning the planning for the Coronation, my desire has been for a new Coronation Oil to be produced using olive oil from the Mount of Olives. This demonstrates the deep historic link between the Coronation, the Bible and the Holy Land,” he declared.
