When a queen wants to send a message, she doesn't need a speech. It's enough to choose who she stands next to. Queen Camilla has brought former Spice Girls member Geri Halliwell into her innermost circle - and this is not just celebrity gossip but a small lesson in how to build a modern monarchy.

After the coronation of Charles III, Camilla discarded the old 'lady-in-waiting' title and instead introduced six female companions called 'Queen's Companions'. Geri Halliwell is one of them. Her role is not decorative: she accompanies the Queen to official engagements and charitable visits, speaks about women's causes, and stands beside her at formal gatherings. This past March she attended Westminster Abbey for the Commonwealth Day service.

The friendship, according to those close to the palace, grew from shared interests - charitable work and horses. A source close to the Queen describes how Geri 'listens attentively while she talks and trusts her with her own stories, reaching for her hand instinctively'. Sounds warm. But it also sounds like a precisely chosen name: a 1990s pop star everyone recognises, transformed into a symbol of an accessible, modern Crown.

Halliwell is not the first celebrity close to the Palace - Victoria Beckham and her husband David have been regular guests at state banquets for years. The monarchy long understood that popularity doesn't come from protocol, but from faces people recognise. The question that remains is straightforward: is this genuine friendship or yet another well-staged scene in which everyone plays exactly the role assigned to them.