Queen Camilla has granted unprecedented access to Her Majesty The Queen: Behind Closed Doors, a new documentary about her work around domestic violence, which will air Monday, November 11.
Camilla, who has long advocated for increased awareness around domestic violence, allowed a camera crew to film her at Clarence House, where she lives with King Charles, and at a series of engagements where the royal held meetings with survivors and activists.
The queen, who has been working in the field of domestic violence for over a decade and is patron of the charities Refuge, Women’s Aid and SafeLives, agreed to take part in the documentary from production company Love Monday for ITV, to raise awareness around the issue.
“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,” Camilla says in the film. “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.”
The 90-minute film tells the story of six survivors of domestic abuse and features interviews with former Prime Minister Theresa May, Cherie Blair, Dame Helen Mirren and actor Patrick Stewart, a Refuge ambassador.
Her Royal Highness also met with Diana Parkes, whose daughter, Joanna Simpson, was killed by her estranged husband. Moved by the experience, Camilla says, “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.”
It’s the first time Queen Camilla has allowed cameras to film her carrying out such personal work. Executive producer Naveed Chowdhary-Flatt said that Camilla was “very warm and receptive.”
“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 said. “The queen has been working in this field for a decade. We wanted to make a film that tells the story about the important work she does.”
The Palace also granted the filmmakers access to numerous engagements, including visits to a refuge. According to Chowdhary-Flatt, “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.”
She added, “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.”
Theresa May, who made coercive and controlling behaviour an offence during her tenure as Prime Minister, says 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.”
In the documentary, Queen Camilla pledges to continue her advocacy work. “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,” she says.
This article originally appeared on Vanity Fair.
