Camila has vowed to continue to support victims and survivors of
domestic violence once she becomes Queen Consort.
In an interview with Emma Barnett for Woman’s Hour and BBC
Breakfast, which aired on Thursday, Camilla, 74, said that the Queen’s wish for her to be known
as Queen Consort in the future represented a “great honour”.
The Duchess made the promise at Clarence House as she was reunited with
Diana Parkes, whose daughter Joanna Simpson was killed by her husband in 2010,
and whose story Camilla credits with inspiring her work with domestic abuse
victims.
Camilla said: “Of course, it’s a great honour [becoming Queen
Consort], it couldn’t be anything else. But it does help it. I’m going to keep
up with these causes. You know, if I start something like this, I’m not going
to give up mid-channel, I’m just going to keep going to try and help the likes
of people like Diana… I hope I should be doing it for a lifetime.”
The Duchess, who has been raising awareness of the issue of domestic
abuse for more than a decade, called for a “culture change” to tackle
violence against women, with more needing to be done to teach respect at an
early age.
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The Duchess with Emma Barnett (left) and Diana Parkes (right) at Clarence House
“We do need to help culture change. And I think we have to start at
the beginning, I think children at school have got to be taught respect. We
have got to go back to the beginning and just build up this idea that you have
to have respect for human beings, it’s a lack of respect. It’s treating women
like chattels and people thinking they can get away with it. I’m sure a lot of
people do it and think that there’s nothing wrong.”
Speaking about the impact that lockdown has had on domestic abuse,
Camilla said: “I don’t think it’s got any better. I think the lockdown was
terrible because people actually couldn’t escape. And you see the numbers have
gone up. But on the other hand, I think it’s drawn a lot of people’s
attention to it. I think it’s talked about much more now.”
The Queen outlined her wishes for the monarchy in the future as she
released a personal statement to officially mark the start of her Platinum
Jubilee year on 6 February.
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The Duchess became patron of domestic abuse charity SafeLives in 2020
She said: “I remain eternally grateful for and humbled by, the
loyalty and affection that you continue to give me and 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; 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.”
Speaking about her mother-in-law’s milestone year, Camilla added:
“It’s always lovely to have something happy to look forward to, isn’t it? I
mean, we’ve all been through hard times. We’ve all been locked away from our
family and friends. And now we could all get together again and celebrate.”
The full interview is due to air on 24 February on Woman’s Hour and BBC
Breakfast and was conducted in person around three weeks ago, before Camilla
was diagnosed with coronavirus.
