Queen Camilla Announced Important Project Just Before Falling Ill

Days before being sidelined by a chest infection, Queen Camilla unveiled plans for a documentary examining her decade-long advocacy against domestic violence. The 77-year-old royal granted exclusive access to filmmakers for Her Majesty The Queen: Behind Closed Doors, scheduled to air Nov. 11 in the UK.

The 90-minute documentary, produced by Love Monday for ITV, captures Camilla’s work with survivors and activists, featuring intimate footage from Clarence House, where she resides with King Charles. In the film, per Vanity Fair, Camilla addresses the insidious nature of domestic abuse: “One of the most difficult things about domestic abuse, to understand, it’s not the bruises and the black eyes, which, unfortunately you see, through violence, this is something that creeps up very slowly and, far too often, it ends up with women being killed.”

The queen, who serves as patron of Refuge, Women’s Aid and SafeLives, elaborates on the psychological aspects of abuse: “You meet somebody, you think they’re wonderful and attractive and love you…and then bit by bit, they start to undermine you. They take away your friends, they take away your family…and then when you start questioning it…these people become very violent.”

Executive producer Naveed Chowdhary-Flatt revealed to Vanity Fair that the production received extraordinary access. “The queen was very generous with her time and has given our cameras exclusive access over the past year to chart the work that she does around the arena of domestic violence which has, until now, largely stayed behind closed doors,” she stated, adding “We were an all-female crew and we were given remarkable access to the queen but also to the charities the queen works with. They helped us find people who were willing to talk about their experiences anonymously and sometimes for the very first time.”

Several notable people are interviewed in the documentary, including former Prime Minister Theresa May, Cherie Blair, Dame Helen Mirren, and actor Patrick Stewart, alongside accounts from six abuse survivors. May emphasizes the royal’s influence in the film: “I think it’s incredibly important that Her Majesty shows an interest in this issue. We’ve come a long way…but sadly there is more to do. The police get a call about domestic abuse once every 30 seconds.”

The documentary showcases Camilla’s personal engagement with survivors, including Diana Parkes, whose daughter Joanna Simpson was killed by her estranged husband. Reflecting on this encounter, Camilla remarks, “I think she’s so strong, because not many people would be able to survive the death of their daughter. I admire her more than I can say.”

Chowdhary-Flatt praised the queen’s authentic involvement, telling the outlet: “You hear a lot of ‘The queen’s good with people’ but seeing her walking around the refuge you are struck by how genuine her work is. She’s not just a mouthpiece and this is not a fluffy issue. It’s difficult and horrible and she has been willing to put her name and face to this cause. She really listens to these people and cares about their stories, and she remembers people. Not once did we have to brief her. What surprised me was her knowledge and it’s obvious she really knows her subject.”

In the documentary, Camilla pledges ongoing commitment to this cause: “Don’t kid ourselves, it’s going to take a long, long time because it’s been going forever. It’s been going since time began. But I think if you look at the steps that we’ve taken since the bad old days, we have made a huge amount of progress, and I shall keep on trying until I’m able to no more.”

However, shortly after announcing this project, Buckingham Palace revealed that Queen Camilla had temporarily withdrawn from public duties. “Her Majesty The Queen is currently unwell with a chest infection, for which her doctors have advised a short period of rest,” a palace spokesperson announced Tuesday. The statement indicated she “very much hopes to be recovered in time to attend this weekend’s Remembrance events as normal.”

This health setback arrives amid broader medical concerns within the royal family. King Charles, 75, is currently undergoing cancer treatment, discovered during a procedure for an enlarged prostate earlier this year. The palace confirmed, “During The King’s recent hospital procedure for benign prostate enlargement, a separate issue of concern was noted. Subsequent diagnostic tests have identified a form of cancer,” clarifying that it was not prostate cancer.

Due to her current illness, the queen will miss several engagements, including the Field of Remembrance ceremony at Westminster Abbey, where the Duchess of Gloucester will represent her instead, according to Business Times. She will also be absent from a Buckingham Palace reception for Olympic and Paralympic athletes hosted by King Charles.