Queen Camilla's Latest Outing Marks A Big First
In February 2022, Queen Elizabeth made it known that she wished for Camilla to be known as queen consort once her son became king. This was a big deal because in 2005 before Charles and Camilla got married, she would be known as princess consort, per Town & Country. It may have had to do with the public's ongoing love for King Charles III's first wife Princess Diana. When Princess Diana's marriage was breaking up, some people dubbed Camilla the most hated woman in Britain, according to Geo News.
The couple were seemingly first acknowledged by the queen in 2000 when she attended a lunch with the two of them, per People. Camilla started attending public events with then Prince Charles, and her first solo speaking engagement after the relationship was public was for the National Osteoporosis Society, according to People. Her support for charitable work has continued. In the years after she got married, Camilla has been made president or patron for more than 90 charities, according to the Royal Family's website. And she's now made her first outing as queen consort since the queen's death, and it's for a great cause.
Queen Camilla has long supported domestic violence victims
Queen consort Camilla visited the Chelsea and Westminster Hospital in London on her own, according to People. She publicly met with frontline workers who support victims of domestic violence as well as meeting with some domestic violence victims. She had a sweet moment with the three-week-old baby of Shana Begum. Begum is a pioneer for the domestic abuse charity SafeLives where she shares her history with domestic abuse; Camilla has been a patron of the charity since 2020, per Hello. Upon hearing that Begum said her life was now "very different," Camilla said it was "really nice to hear such a positive story," per Evening Standard.
Suzanne Jacob, CEO of SafeLives, was excited about Camilla's choice of solo outing: "So many pressures, so many choices, so many things that people will be asking her to engage in, but she's made this a priority," per Town & Country. Supporting survivors of domestic violence, rape, and sexual abuse has been a focus of Camilla's charity work.
The first joint outing for Camilla and King Charles III after the royal period of mourning had ended was to Dunfermline in Scotland to recognize its being awarded city status during the Platinum Jubilee, per Scotsman.
If you or someone you know is dealing with domestic abuse, you can call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1−800−799−7233. You can also find more information, resources, and support at their website.