The British Royal Family’s social media team has limited comments on a photo of Queen Camilla and JK Rowling after the post was flooded with transgender pride flags and messages of support for the trans community.
The photo, posted to the Royal Family’s official Instagram account on 1 July, showed Camilla meeting the Harry Potter author at the Palace of Holyroodhouse in Edinburgh.
According to the post, the meeting was held “with a shared passion for books and a deep commitment to children reading for pleasure”, with the pair discussing “the importance of ensuring that young people have access to books”.
But the post quickly drew backlash from LGBTQIA+ people and allies, with many questioning the decision to platform Rowling – particularly just days after Pride Month.
Commenters began filling the post with transgender flag emojis, while others directly criticised the wording of the Royal Family’s caption.
“All young people? Or only some young people?” one commenter wrote on Instatram, alongside trans pride flags. The comment received more than 15,000 likes.
Another commenter wrote: “As an admirer of the Queen and her Reading Room I’m deeply disappointed in her giving a platform to JKR, any month but especially during Pride Month.”
“There are many other admirable individuals to spotlight who champion reading for children and young people.”
The reaction also spread to Reddit, where members of the r/transgenderuk subreddit shared their frustration after the Royal Family account restricted comments.
“Diana would have supported trans people,” one Reddit user said.
Another said the move was “optically” terrible for the Royal Family, arguing that an institution claiming to represent the country should not be limiting public response to a post that had upset so many people.
A third Reddit user took aim at Rowling more directly, writing: “Spreading her mould to a different castle,” in reference to a viral selfie of Rowling that became a meme after people noticed what appeared to be black mould on the wall behind her.
Rowling has become one of the most prominent public figures in the ongoing culture war over trans rights, with her comments repeatedly condemned by LGBTQIA+ advocates because they’re wildly harmful to trans people.
The Royal Family account has not publicly addressed the criticism – beyond limiting who could comment on the post.
‘ The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties ’
‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.starobserver.com.au ’
