Queen Camilla has vowed to try and eradicate domestic violence amid her ongoing health problems.
The Queen, 77, will appear in a new documentary, The Queen: Behind Closed Doors, which will share details of her work to raise awareness and combat domestic and sexual violence.
Her Majesty met with a former Miss England, Rehema Muthamia, 30, at Buckingham Palace, one of several domestic violence survivors who share their real-life experiences in the programme.
Rehema told her story about being stalked by an ex-partner.
Queen Camilla has vowed to try and eradicate domestic violence amid her ongoing health problems.
PA
She said: “I got a knock to say my ex-boyfriend was outside my block of flats. And at 10pm at night.
“I just didn’t feel safe anywhere.”
The documentary will showcase a full year of engagements and meetings with survivors of domestic abuse.
Camilla has been a passionate campaigner on the issue for over a decade, working with organisations to break the taboo around the issue and support survivors.
Queen Camilla (right) meeting Diana Parkes CBE who founded Joanna Simpson Foundation, during a visit to Government House, in Onchan, Isle of Man.
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Rehema told Camilla: “Once you start speaking, it’s very empowering.
“From that moment you feel you’ve taken back the control that they took from you.
“I had the opportunity to enter into a pageant of all things, and I won and became Miss England’s 2021, and it was so funny that a beauty pageant helped me turn my pain into a purpose.”
“Life doesn’t end after abuse. I think it’s just a new chapter and you become a stronger woman from it.”
Queen Camilla during a visit to the Swindon Domestic Abuse Support Service’s (SDASS) in Wiltshire.
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The Queen praised Rehema, and other survivors for speaking up about their experiences: “I think through getting some of these wonderfully brave survivors to actually get up and talk about it has made people sit up and listen.
“There are a lot of feisty women out there who’ve been through it, come out the other end and are now telling others how to do it. And that’s what we want.”
Rehema expressed her views on why not all victims speak up about abuse they have suffered.
She said: “It feels like a dirty secret that you have. And it’s that shame of, ‘I can’t tell other people about it because they’re going to look at me differently’.”
The Queen has vowed she will “keep trying” to end domestic violence
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Speaking on Camilla’s work, Rehema said: “She is giving survivors like me a voice.”
One in five adults are victims of domestic abuse in the UK, including a quarter of women.
In the new documentary, viewers are expected to see various examples of the Queen’s work to tackle to issue, including scenes of her hosting a roundtable with teenagers, and celebrating International Women’s Day at Buckingham Palace.
The 90-minute ITV programme will air on Monday, November 11, 2024.
