Queen Camilla has been tireless in her work to raise awareness of and put an end to domestic and sexual violence and an enlightening new ITV documentary has sparked a lot of important discussions in recent days.
Her Majesty The Queen: Behind Closed Doors followed Queen Camilla over the course of her first year as Queen Consort, showing never-before-seen private meetings with survivors of domestic violence and those campaigning for change. The documentary opened with Queen Camilla sitting down at her home to deliver a powerful message about the terrifying reality of how many people are experiencing domestic violence and the importance of talking about it. Ahead of this, it was revealed that last year there were an estimated 2.1 million victims of domestic abuse in England and Wales.
"By scratching the surface you get a terrible shock," Queen Camilla declared. "It’s a heinous crime. If we could just get more people discussing it, talking about it, people are so shocked by what they hear, that, rather like me, they want to say, ‘Hang on a minute, perhaps there’s something we can help with to hopefully, in the end, put an end to it.’"
This is something that Queen Camilla has been striving to do since 2010 when she started working to raise awareness of violence against women. She later became Patron of SafeLives, a vital domestic abuse charity, in 2020. In the ITV documentary, viewers learnt how Queen Camilla first became involved in this important work when she arrived for a meeting on the Isle of Man with Diana Parkes, whose daughter Joanna Simpson was killed by her estranged husband in 2010.
It was hearing Diana’s story that inspired Queen Camilla to dedicate herself to raising awareness and Diana herself expressed this in the documentary, explaining, "She always says to me, ‘You are the one who made me want to get involved with domestic abuse."
"She’s an 80 year old grandmother and her daughter, who she loved dearly, was killed at the hands of such an evil perpetrator," said Queen Camilla. "I think she’s so strong because not many people would be able to survive the death of a daughter. I admire her more than I can say."
Both Diana and Joanna’s best friend Hetti Barkworth-Nanton reflected upon their memories of her. Hetti then went on to describe the connection between Diana and Queen Camilla as being on a "personal level" after they first met and the two grandmothers later discussed this important first meeting, which the Queen said was "engraved on [her] heart" forever. It took place at an event organised by SafeLives in 2016.
"I remember seeing you sitting there. And I thought, well, goodness, there’s somebody of my generation. I tried to put myself in your shoes. I thought to myself, well if it had been my daughter, I don’t think I’d have been able to sit and be as dignified and wonderful as you were that day," she said. "And then when Hetti got up and spoke, you could have heard a pin drop…. My reaction, I’m afraid, was to cry. And I looked round and there were a lot of police and a lot of quite hard-nosed journalists sitting round. There wasn’t a dry eye in the place."
This meeting had a profound impact upon Queen Camilla and the path she has taken with her royal work. She has been unwavering in her commitment to raising awareness of domestic violence and sexual violence and never shies away from shining a light on these issues. Earlier this year she hosted a reception to recognise those who support victims of sexual assault and expressed her desire to affect major change.
"Your stories and your experiences are vital tools as we seek to bring about change: to forge a world in which people, whoever and wherever they are, do not live in fear of being abused. As I have often heard victims say: speaking about the experience is one of the key ways to survive it. By sharing with one another today, we can strengthen our alliance against sexual abuse in all its forms," she declared.
If you or someone you know finds themselves in need of support or someone to talk to in a safe space, you can reach out to Rape Crisis England & Wales by calling 0808 500 2222 for free or visiting their website or reach out to Refuge by calling their National Domestic Abuse Helpline on 0808 2000 247 for free or by visiting their website.
