Queen Camilla spotlights voices of domestic abuse survivors in powerful new documentary

In her first documentary feature since ascending the throne, Queen Camilla has given survivors of domestic abuse a powerful voice during a rare glimpse of her work as a senior royal.

The 90-minute film follows Camilla over the last year as she attends official engagements and never-before-seen private meetings with survivors and campaigners of domestic abuse.

She is seen visiting a refuge and speaking candidly with survivors about their deeply personal experiences, as well as revealing what drove her to spend the last decade raising awareness.

Earlier this year, Camilla backed The Independent’s Brick by Brick campaign to build two new refuges for women fleeing abuse. Thanks to generous donations from readers the initial £300,000 target has recently been reached, with more than £500,000 of donations pouring in so far and plans are already underway for the building of a second home.

Be a brick, buy a brick and donate here or text BRICK to 70560 to donate £15

Speaking about the importance of refuges in the documentary Camilla says: “You flee and you arrive at this haven. Room of their own, a door they can lock. And as time goes by, they start having their confidence restored and start their life anew.

“These refuges are literally life savers. Without these refuges, where would they go?”

The programme sheds light on themes including coercive control and marital rape as the documentary spotlights harrowing testimony from brave survivors.

“I think through getting some of the wonderfully brave survivors to actually get up and talk about it has made people sit up and listen,” the Queen says in a previously unseen interview. “And the more they talk about it, it’s going to encourage more and more people to come forward.”

One survivor, Emma, recalled how her abusive partner threw petrol on her clothes as he thought they were “too revealing” and threatened to set her on fire.

Another survivor, Rachel, recounted how her former husband had lifted her up by the throat when she was seven months pregnant, only letting her go once her lips turned blue.

She later tells the programme how her estranged husband walked into her place of work and shot her. She said: “He pointed the gun at my chest, told me he loved me and pulled the trigger.”

On average, one woman is killed by an abusive partner or ex every five days in England and Wales, and the documentary sets out the path of escalation of domestic abuse that can lead to this – from love bombing to homicide.

“Coercive control is almost the most frightening bit of domestic abuse,” Camilla says. “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.”

In a particularly moving part of the documentary, Camilla secretly visits a refuge for women who have escaped domestic abuse.

Upon being shown around the home – in a hidden location – she meets a mother and baby in the facility’s playroom and later hears one resident’s story of abuse.

“The abuse started gradually. The odd slap turned into a punch. And then beatings,” Camilla is told by the anonymous woman, who later escaped to a refuge in a move that “saved her life”.

The Queen also reveals what sparked her work to help survivors as she recalled her initial meeting with Diana Parkes, the mother of Joanna Simpson who was brutally killed by her estranged husband in 2010.

Reflecting on meeting Ms Parkes in 2016, Camilla says: “She’s an 80-year-old grandmother. And her daughter who she loved dearly was killed at the hands of such an evil perpetrator. I think she’s so strong because not many people would be able to survive the death of a daughter. I admire her more than I can say.”

At the end of the programme, the Queen reflects on the long journey ahead in the fight to eradicate domestic abuse and vows “I shall keep on trying until I’m able to no more.”

Her Majesty The Queen: Behind Closed Doors will be shown on ITV1, ITVX, STV and STV Player on Monday 11 November at 9pm.

Please donate now to the Brick by Brick campaign, launched by The Independent and charity Refuge, to help raise another £300,000 to build a second safe space for women where they can escape domestic abuse, rebuild their lives and make a new future. Text BRICK to 70560 to donate £15.