As King Charles III moved to strip his younger brother Andrew of his Prince title and housing at the Royal Lodge last night, there was one woman who firmly and calmly stood by his side.
Queen Camilla, 78, may not take up the limelight when it comes to the royals’ family matters, but stands strongly behind her husband, 76, in the couple’s commitment to recognising and supporting victims of abuse.
The shock announcement from Buckingham Palace on Thursday night saw Andrew Mountbatten Windsor, as he will now be known, stripped of the last of his titles and birthright privileges.
It came after a series of embarrassments for the disgraced former Duke of York in relation to his friendship with convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein.
After the revelation in the Mail that Andrew told Epstein they were ‘in it together’, after the publication of a photograph of him with Virginia Giuffre, to the publication of Ms Giuffre’s memoir, it has not been a good few weeks for the royal family.
Andrew has never truly shaken his relationship with Epstein after Ms Giuffre, who took her own life aged 41 earlier this year, alleged she had been trafficked and forced to have sex with the royal on three occasions.
The King and Queen will now hope they can finally move on from Andrew’s antics and look to the future of the monarchy, rather than the past.
And as Camilla has demonstrated throughout her public life, this includes focusing on the victims of abuse, rather than the alleged perpetrators.
Queen Camilla , 78, may not take up the limelight when it comes to the royals’ family matters, but stands strongly behind her husband, 76, in the couple’s commitment to recognising and supporting victims of abuse
The shock announcement from Buckingham Palace on Thursday night saw Andrew Mountbatten Windsor, as he will now be known, stripped of the last of his titles and birthright privileges
In the King’s statement last night, it was perhaps his wife’s influence that saw a strong departure from their previous stance on Andrew, as they looked to speak to Epstein’s victims.
‘His Majesty has today initiated a formal process to remove the style, titles and honours of Prince Andrew,’ the statement read.
‘Prince Andrew will now be known as Andrew Mountbatten Windsor.
‘His lease on Royal Lodge has, to date, provided him with legal protection to continue in residence.
‘Formal notice has now been served to surrender the lease and he will move to alternative private accommodation.
‘These censures are deemed necessary, notwithstanding the fact that he continues to deny the allegations against him.
‘Their Majesties wish to make clear that their thoughts and utmost sympathies have been, and will remain with, the victims and survivors of any and all forms of abuse.’
It is that last line that is reflected through the Queen’s work to support women, tackle sexual violence and meet with some of the most vulnerable people in society.
In 2013 began her own initiative, Wash Bag, which provided SARCs with wash kits for victims of sexual assault and rape
Queen Camilla poses for a photo with guests at a reception to mark the relaunch of the Wash Bags project, at Buckingham Palace, in May 2024
It was telling that just days before Ms Giuffre’s memoir, which contains more embarrassing allegations against Andrew, was set to be released that the King initially moved to sanction his younger brother.
Last week it was announced that Andrew would lose titles including his Dukedom, but no mention of his role as ‘prince’ was made.
Yet by last night, the monarch had decided that position was no longer tenable, and Andrew was relegated from prince to Mr Mountbatten Windsor, a decision that was no doubt supported by his wife.
For more almost two decades, Camilla has worked with organisations that support victims of rape and sexual assault and advocated for women’s rights.
The Queen herself has spoken about being assaulted on a train as a teenager, revealing she bravely fought off her attacker with her shoe and reported him to authorities, leading to his arrest.
She has since taken the issue to heart and has conducted countless engagements related to preventing and supporting victims of sexual violence.
After visiting a series of rape crisis centres in 2009, the Queen opened multiple sexual assault referral centres (SARCs) and in 2013 began her own initiative, Wash Bag, which provided SARCs with wash kits for those who attended the centres.
Today, the programme is run by high street chain Boots and has seen the distribution of more than 10,000 bags to vulnerable women.
Camilla met with staff and volunteers who help victims of domestic violence in Florence, Italy in 2017
Camilla with TV star Zara McDermott during her visit to Paddington Haven, a sexual assault referral centre in West London, in February 2022
Britain’s Queen Camilla, accompanied by Executive Secretary of the International Union of Superiors General Sister Roxanne Schares, meets with nuns whose work includes advocacy for human trafficking victims in Rome last week
In the same year, she brought together national stakeholders and policy makers involved in supporting victims of rape and sexual abuse, marking the first occasion such a wide range of organisations had been brought together.
She is the patron of charity Barnardo’s, with which she has a particular focus on tackling child sexual exploitation, and has visited UNICEF programmes set up to face the same issue in countries including Montenegro.
The Queen has devoted significant amounts of time meeting and speaking with rape victims, including attending a rape crisis centre in Croydon and listening to the stories of women who were attacked during the Kosovan conflict.
In 2021, she became the patron of Nigeria’s first ever sexual assault referral centre, Mirabel, and departed from royal protocol by speaking out in strong terms following the rape and murder of Sarah Everard by a serving Met Police officer.
The Queen expressed her heartfelt shock after Ms Everard’s body was discovered, and urged both men and women to break down the ‘culture of silence’ that exists around sexual assault.
The King’s wife has been an outspoken supporter of victims of domestic violence, and hosted a reception at Clarence House in 2016 to encourage collaboration between different agencies with roles in tackling it.
She has visited organisations such as Refuge and Women’sAid, and is the patron of domestic abuse charity SafeLives.
Internationally, Camilla has made contributions to tackling domestic violence around the world, visiting the Dubai Foundation for Women and Children in 2016, hosting a roundtable on the subject in Adelaide, Australia and attending support centres for victims in New Zealand.
As Queen, she also hosted a reception in 2022 to celebrate Refuge’s 50th anniversary.
Elsewhere in 2017, Queen Camilla met with victims of human trafficking in Italy as she continued her work to prevent exploitation of vulnerable people.
Just last week, she met with Catholic nuns during her and the King’s trip to Rome, where they also met the Pope.
She took time out of her schedule to speak with the sister from the International Union of Superiors General, who are involved in advocacy work including the prevention of human trafficking.
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