Prince Charles wrote a personal message in honor of his mother, Queen Elizabeth, beginning her Platinum Jubilee year over the weekend.
The Prince of Wales congratulated the queen, who is Britain’s longest reigning monarch and the first to celebrate a Platinum Jubilee, on her Accession Day. That occasion, which the queen observes but does not herself celebrate, marks the moment she assumed the throne 70 years ago, after the death of her father, King George VI, on Feb. 6, 1952.
“On this historic day, my wife and I join you all in congratulating Her Majesty The Queen on the remarkable achievement of serving this nation, the Realms and Commonwealth for seventy years,” reads a statement from Clarence House signed by the prince. “The Queen’s devotion to the welfare of all her people inspires still greater admiration with each passing year.”
Charles also acknowledged the queen’s “sincere wish” to make Camilla, his wife, the future “Queen Camilla” when he becomes king.
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“We are deeply conscious of the honour represented by my mother’s wish,” Charles’ statement reads. “As we have sought together to serve and support Her Majesty and the people of our communities, my darling wife has been my own steadfast support throughout.”
“The year of this unprecedented Platinum Jubilee brings an opportunity for us all to come together in celebrating the service of The Queen, by whose example we will continue to be led in the years to come,” the statement says.
Elizabeth made the momentous announcement about Camilla on Saturday, the day before her own Accession Day.
“When, in the fullness of time, my son Charles becomes king, I know you will give him and his wife Camilla the same support that you have given me,” the queen said in a statement. “And it is my sincere wish that, when that time comes, Camilla will be known as Queen Consort as she continues her own loyal service.”
When Charles and Camilla Parker Bowles wed in 2005, it was originally intended that Camilla would one day be Princess Consort rather than Queen Consort, though the language was deliberately left open-ended.
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