Queen Camilla’s domestic violence campaign highlighted in new ITV documentary

Film-makers have been allowed to follow her dedicated work with survivors, families and charities for a year

Queen Camilla long-running campaign to end domestic abuse will be explored in a new ITV documentary after she allowed a camera crew to film her at work for a year.
Her Majesty The Queen: Behind Closed Doors will feature conversations between the Queen, 76, and the victims of domestic abuse, as well as relatives who have lost loved ones and those working to end violence against women.
The 90-minute documentary, the first to offer exclusive royal access since the coronation, will be broadcast later this year.
The Queen made domestic violence one of the key planks of her work after joining the Royal family and has spent the last decade in particular working closely with campaigners to highlight what she calls “heinous crimes”.
She is patron of the charity SafeLives and has made many visits, both official and secret, to women’s refuges. She recently backed calls for a domestic abuse campaign to be introduced in schools nationwide, and has said that young people should be taught “respect” as part of the drive to “obliterate” such violence.
The Telegraph understands that after 10 years working in the sphere, the Queen considered it an appropriate time to take part in such a documentary, her work in the field having been well received, and having established good relationships with so many of the charities and individuals involved, as well as an intricate understanding of the issues at stake.
Sue Murphy, ITV’s director of factual entertainment, said she hoped the film would “raise awareness and inspire change in our society”.
Buckingham Palace allowed the production team to follow the Queen on related engagements for a year, starting last autumn.
She will be shown hosting round tables with teenagers, celebrating International Women’s Day at Buckingham Palace and meeting survivors who, if they had not made it to a refuge, could have lost their lives.
Survivors’ voices will be at the heart of the film as they aim to break the wall of silence surrounding domestic abuse. The documentary will also explore why perpetrators abuse, and how to stop the cycle.
Among those taking part is Diana Parkes, the mother of Joanna Brown, who was killed by her husband in 2010. Ms Parkes has worked alongside the Queen in highlighting the scourge of domestic abuse since they met in 2016.
The Queen has described how her story “has always resonated very deeply with me, partly, I think, because she and I are the same generation and are both grandmothers”.
Kerene Barefield, of the production company Love Monday, said: “It has been a privilege to have been entrusted to produce this film and observe first hand Her Majesty the Queen’s work in the field of domestic abuse.
“Our aim was to not only highlight the devastation caused by domestic abuse in the UK, but also give a voice and re-empower the victims.
“The Queen is not alone in trying to ‘obliterate’ this curse, and we have been honoured to work with charities and services who work on the front line to support survivors, rehabilitate victims and campaign for change.
“We are humbled that our brave survivors have told their stories on camera. It is our belief that by sharing them in this film, we can help people understand what abuse looks like in 2024.
“If we understand what it looks like, together we will be able to tackle domestic abuse and make a difference.”
In a landmark speech delivered in November 2022, the Queen called for an end to what she said had “rightly been called a global pandemic of violence against women”.
“Let us not lose this precious opportunity to speak up and to galvanise action that will see the end of these heinous crimes forever,” she said. “With determination and courage, we will succeed.”
The following month, the Queen admitted that she could not forget the many personal accounts of abuse shared with her by survivors.
“I have had the privilege of meeting so many women – and men – who live in an atmosphere of permanent fear. Their stories still haunt me,” she told Good Housekeeping magazine.
“Over and over again, I have heard that what survivors want, above all, is for the wall of silence to be broken.”