‘I saw Queen Camilla’s eyes well up – then she made a heartbreaking admission to me’

Queen Camilla has long been an advocate for charities that support victims of domestic abuse, previously appearing in an ITV documentary on the subject last year

A journalist who met Queen Camilla in 2021 has written about how she saw the royal close to tears when she met residents of a women’s refuge.

In 2021, when Camilla was the Duchess of Cornwall, she visited a women’s refuge in Reading and met the residents living in the building, visited their bedrooms, and spoke to some of the people living there.

Witnessing the event was journalist Claire Cohen, who has now spoken about her experiences in the Times and recalled how Camilla reacted to the experience.

Claire wrote: “I noticed her eyes well up more than once during these intimate conversations — and, more than once, I felt like an intruder listening in.”

Claire added that Camilla said: “That almost reduced me to tears It’s quite harrowing. You think you’ve become immune to it after a bit, but then you hear somebody like that girl.”

This wouldn’t be the last time the now-Queen would highlight the plight of women affected by domestic abuse. In 2024, she was part of an ITV documentary about the subject, in which she interviewed victims.

Last year, she spoke about the terrible impact domestic abuse can have on a person, as the royal continued campaigning.

In the documentary, she said: “If we could just get more people discussing it… Coercive control is almost the most frightening bit of domestic abuse.

“You meet somebody, you think they’re wonderful, attractive, and love you, and then bit by bit they start to undermine you.

“They take away your friends, they take away your family. They take control of your money. They start dressing you. And yet all the time I suppose people still believe they’re doing it because they love them.”

Camilla has since been praised by survivors who now say they feel seen thanks to her work.

Speaking to ITV, Emma Armstrong, a domestic abuse survivor who runs the charity ‘I Chose Freedom’, spoke about the Queen’s impact, and feels she has “given a voice” to survivors like her.

She explained: “She really feels it. She is saying, ‘we can’t silence it anymore, we won’t live in a world where domestic abuse is not spoken about.’

“When you’ve got someone as high profile as the Queen saying ‘this is not ok, we need to do something to tackle this’, the message is so powerful.”

If you have been affected by issues of domestic violence or coercive control you can call Refuge’s 24-Hour National Domestic Abuse Helpline for free. The number is 0808 2000 247