Queen Camilla Hosts Royalty From Around the World at Buckingham Palace
Queen Camilla gathered an influential group of women at Buckingham Palace today for part of the UN's campaign of activism against gender-based violence.
Thee group included royalty: Queen Rania of Jordan, Queen Mathilde of Belgium, and Crown Princess Mary of Denmark, and Camilla's sister-in-law, Sophie, Countess of Wessex. Plus, First Lady Fatima Maada Biom of Sierra Leone and Olena Zelenska, the First Lady of Ukraine, were also at Buckingham Palace for the reception.
"We are uniting today to confront, rightly, what has rightly been called a global pandemic of violence against women. Faced with such challenges, it can be hard to know what practical steps we can take to even begin to make a difference," The Queen Consort said in her remarks at Buckingham Palace. "Over the years, in my previous role, I had the privilege of meeting many survivors of rape and domestic abuse; and of sharing in the sorrow of people who had lost family members to violence. And again and again, I heard that two of the most powerful ways in which to help were to remember and to listen."
Over the years, Queen Camilla has made supporting victims of rape, assault, and domestic abuse a cornerstone of her career as a working royal.
Celebrities, too, were part of the gathered audience at Buckingham Palace today, including Melanie Brown, a.k.a. Mel B of the Spice Girls. Earlier this year, Prince William presented Brown with an MBE for her support of vulnerable women. Brown has been open about her experience of domestic abuse, and support of other victims. As the former pop star said at the time, "I’m their voice because we’ve all been through exactly the same story, so I don’t take it as it’s my award because it’s our award because we’ve survived."
Today at the Palace, the Queen Consort ended her remarks on a similarly hopeful note, telling the group: "You are also evidence that we can have hope as we head towards our goal of ending violence against women and girls. Armed with that hope, let us press on. Let us not lose this precious opportunity to speak up and to galvanise action that will see the end of these heinous crimes forever. With determination and courage, we will succeed."
In addition, Queen Camilla hosted Queen Rania and Princess Mary at Clarence House yesterday ahead of the reception. The Jordanian Queen shared a photo on her Instagram, writing, it was "a lovely afternoon."
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