Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, says Queen Consort role will be 'great honour' as she talks about domestic violence

February 24, 2022

The Duchess of Cornwall has said it will be a "great honour" to become Queen Consort and the role will help her advance the causes she campaigns for.

Camilla said she will not end her work with victims of domestic violence or, as she put it, "give up mid-channel".

Rather, the duchess hopes to be "doing it for a lifetime", she told BBC presenter Emma Barnett.

The Queen said Camilla could use the title of Queen Consort, which is often shortened to Queen, when her husband, the Prince of Wales, becomes King, giving her royal seal of approval earlier this month as the monarch marked 70 years on the throne.

The duchess was joined by Diana Parkes, whose daughter Joanna Simpson was killed by her husband in 2010, to discuss her work with domestic violence victims.

Camilla said: "Of course it's a great honour [to one day become 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."

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The duchess has previously cited Ms Parkes as the inspiration behind her work with domestic abuse victims, according to the BBC.

Calling for further measures to tackle violence against women, she said reform needed to begin early in life, and that "children at school have got to be taught respect".

'It's treating women like chattels'

She added: "We have got to go back to the beginnings and... just build up this idea that you have to have respect for human beings.

"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.

"I don't think [the issue of abuse has] 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."

Camilla has been an advocate for the cause on numerous occasions, and has referred previously to last year's killings of Sarah Everard and Sabina Nessa.

The duchess, who recently caught COVID-19, also told Barnett she hoped the Queen's Jubilee would give people the opportunity to "all get together and celebrate" after the "hard times" of the pandemic .

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