King Charles and Queen Camilla Just Made Their First Joint Outing Since the Coronation Weekend
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The King and Queen visited bustling Covent Garden in the heart of London to take in the culture and stores
King Charles and Queen Camilla are heading out to the market!
The King, 74, and Queen, 75, stepped out to bustling Covent Garden in central London on Wednesday morning for their first joint public work since their coronation weekend. After they were crowned at Westminster Abbey on May 6, they also attended the Coronation Concert on the grounds of Windsor Castle the following day.
At Covent Garden, they were greeted by excited crowds, who didn't know of the visit until it had begun, as they visited stallholders and were shown some of the arts and crafts on sale.
Coordinating in blue ensembles, the royal couple kicked off their visit at St. Paul's Church, which is known as the Actors' Church (17th-century diarist Samuel Pepys is said to have seen the first "Punch and Judy" show in the church's Portico).
Related:King Charles and Queen Camilla's Official Coronation Portraits Revealed! See All 4 Regal Photos
They met schoolchildren from nearby St. Clement Danes CofE Primary School, and inside, King Charles and Queen Camilla spoke to members of the Covent Garden Community Association and local actors who regularly perform at the church through its own in-house theatre company, Iris Theatre.
Queen Camilla spent some time with the Church's Drama for Healing group, established in 2019, which works with women who have experienced domestic abuse. Tackling abuse of women has been a key part of Camilla's public work for many years — and something she has taken with her as she became Queen.
She was told how taking part in drama classes at the Actors' Church has helped the women with their healing, giving them a sense of community and belonging.
From there, King Charles and Queen Camilla crossed the West Piazza of Covent Garden to go to The Apple Market, which is now an arts and crafts market. They met stallholders, including one set up by local chef and entrepreneur Amrit S Maan OBE. He also runs the nearby Punjab Covent Garden restaurant.
At Covent Garden's cultural heart is the Royal Opera House. At its Arcade, the couple met artists and staff from The Royal Ballet, The Royal Opera, the orchestra of the Royal Opera House and students from the Royal Ballet School — including some of those (chorus members, Amanda Baldwin and Luke Price) who had entertained them, and the rest of the royal family, at the Coronation Concert on May 7.
The pair were a representative of the historic collaboration between The Royal Ballet, The Royal Opera, the Royal Shakespeare Company, The Royal College of Music and The Royal College of Art, who came together for the first time to perform "Somewhere" from West Side Story.
As Buckingham Palace and the rest of the royal family have gradually returned to mainstream royal outings, following the heady, and tiring, coronation week, they released the last series of images from the event. In one key portrait, King Charles looks to the next generations of monarchs in son Prince William and grandson Prince George, the next two in the line of succession.
Taken in the Throne Room of Buckingham Palace, the portrait showed King Charles in full royal regalia, wearing the Robe of Estate and the Imperial State Crown and holding the Sovereign's Orb and Sovereign's Sceptre with Cross.
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The monarch is shown seated on one of a pair of 1902 throne chairs that were made for the future King George V and Queen Mary for use at the coronation of King Edward VII.
A second photo from the coronation showed King Charles and Queen Camilla with their eight Pages of Honor and Ladies in Attendance, Camilla's sister Annabel Elliot and her friend the Marchioness of Lansdowne.
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