New documentary shows Queen Camilla as a fierce advocate for victims of violence

• Queen Camilla, a long-time supporter of domestic abuse survivors, will feature in a new documentary airing on Monday 11 November.
• A 90 minute film called Her Majesty the Queen: behind closed doorssees the queen talking to survivors, a key part of her royal job.
• During her recent visit to Australia and Samoa with husband King Charles, Camilla visited both countries as part of this aspect of her work.

This is a look at Queen Camilla as most people have never seen her.

Her new, often heartbreaking documentary Her Majesty the Queen: behind closed doors charts the Queen’s journey as she worked to break the taboo around domestic violence. It also shows her compassion when she meets women and their families who have experienced domestic violence and shows her deep understanding of the problem and the help needed by women and girls.

While the film doesn’t show what Camilla and her husband King Charles look like behind the scenes, the film looks at what happens behind too many closed doors and features the 77-year-old queen giving a voice to victims of domestic abuse. . It will air on ITV1 in the UK on Monday 11 November.

One in five adults (and a quarter of all women) in the UK will experience domestic violence in their lifetime, and it is estimated that every week around three women die by suicide as a result of domestic violence.

In the 90-minute film, Camille meets victims of domestic violence and talks to support workers who help women start a new life. At the same time, Camilla speaks frankly about what has motivated her over the past decade.

“One of the hardest things to understand about domestic violence is not the bruises and black eyes that you unfortunately see as a result of abuse, it is something that creeps up very slowly and too often ends up on the women. to be killed,” Camille says in the documentary.

“You meet someone, you think they’re wonderful and attractive and they love you… and then, little by little, they start to undermine you. They take your friends, they take your family… and then when you start asking questions… these people become very cruel,” she continued.

Of one never-before-seen private meeting with Diana Parks, whose daughter Joanna Simpson was killed by her ex-husband, Camilla says: “I think it’s so powerful because not many people can get over the death of their daughter. . I admire her more than I can say.”

The film was presented to many creators and supporters at a special screening at Buckingham Palace. There, Hattie Barkworth-Nanton, who was a friend of Joanna Simpson and is now chair of the charity Refuge, tells PEOPLE: “First of all, with every survivor I’ve seen her speak to, it’s not about the cameras. She’s doing this privately because she genuinely cares and genuinely wants them to feel at ease.”

“Secondly, to be honest, they come out of the conversation feeling absolutely high, and they’re high because they’ve been helped to feel very comfortable talking about very difficult things,” Barkworth-Nanton continues. “But also because they talked. The Queen, and the Queen listened and cared. You can’t put a price on the difference it makes to survivors because it encourages them to move on. It’s incredible.”

“It helps them realize they can hold their heads up high, they don’t have to be ashamed. It’s all part of the renovation. These women sometimes had to feel completely worthless for decades. So just meeting the Queen and talking about what happened is part of the journey. And moves them further down that path, allowing them to feel real self-worth and value,” she adds.

In one scene at the hideout, Camilla sits opposite an unnamed client and looks at her sympathetically over a cup of tea, gently coaxing her story out of her.

“It doesn’t matter that she’s the queen, and this woman is probably at the lowest point in her life in terms of how she feels about herself,” says Barkworth-Nanton. “And they come together as equals, and by coming together as equals, it’s easier for them to ask questions later and help get them off their game, because they feel safe. It helps them feel safe.”

The film also features actor Sir Patrick Stewart, who talks about witnessing his father abuse his mother.

The film also follows the Queen as she celebrates International Women’s Day at Buckingham Palace, ending with a small reception for a group of survivors who also tell their story in the documentary.

One of them was Rehema Mutamia. The first black Miss England UK 2021 entered the pageant to help raise this issue with the pageant audience.

“She acknowledged us,” Mutamiya tells PEOPLE. “To show what it meant to her and to show appreciation for those of us who have been through it (and) walked this path.”

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Mutamiya adds: “She’s doing great. For a monarch who has taken on this social injustice – many of us have said that we feel shame and guilt for ourselves, but for a member of the royal family who has taken on this social injustice, it is very powerful.”

“It could have been anyone, from any background. This is not respect for a woman or a man,” she continues.

Queen Camilla has long supported victims of domestic violence, and during her recent trip to Australia and Samoa with King Charles, 75, she took part in a discussion about family and domestic violence in Australia to find out more about what is being done to tackle it. problems. October 21 in Canberra.

Later in Samoa, the Queen gave a keynote speech on 24 October in recognition of the Commonwealth’s efforts to end gender-based violence, and the following day opened Queen Camilla’s Hope Preschool as the Samoa Victims Support Group continues its mission to raise awareness and educate young people about prevention violence against women and girls.

“I just want to do something about it,” the queen said in the trailer for her upcoming documentary, which will be released on social media on November 1. Later in the video, she adds, “With determination and courage, we will succeed.”

“If Her Majesty had any ambitions for this documentary, it was not that audiences would understand a little more about her and her work, but that this documentary would spark conversations in homes, schools and workplaces. locations across the country,” Buckingham said. This was announced by a palace representative. “Conversations that, if they can happen here in the palace, with the Queen, can and should happen everywhere.”

If you are experiencing domestic violence, call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233 or visit thehotline.org. All calls are free and confidential. The hotline is available 24/7 in over 170 languages.