Camilla: I’ve been trying to hold King back
QUEEN Camilla said the King was “really thrilled to be out” this week, but admitted: “I’ve been trying to hold him back”.
Camilla made the remark at a Buckingham Palace event to recognise people who support victims of sexual assault.
The Queen, 76, was talking to Teresa Tideman, chief of In Kind Direct, a charity founded by the King in 1996, when she made the comment about her husband who had returned to public duties just 24 hours earlier despite battling cancer.
Camilla helped to relaunch The Wash Bag Project, which aims to help victims believe in the “kindness of strangers”.
And she recounted a mother’s story about her daughter who received a “wonderful bag of toiletries” that “lifted our moods” after a forensic exam following an attack. Camilla also thanked special guests Cherie Blair and Carrie Johnson for “standing up and committing yourselves to bringing an end to these heinous crimes”.
The free toiletries will be donated by Boots and distributed by In Kind Direct to people who have been affected by rape and sexual abuse.
It has been a cause close to the Queen’s heart for more than a decade. Camilla originally launched the scheme when she was Duchess of Cornwall in 2013 after hearing shocking tales from a range of survivors.
Among the 300 guests were charities, police forces, health services and heroes from centres such as Rape Crisis South London, The Women’s Centre Cornwall, The Havens, and Croydon RASASC.
TV star Zara McDermott, who fronted BBC documentary Uncovering Rape Culture, said: “The forensic [examinations] can feel really invasive and traumatic so having something that makes victims feel a lot more normal and human after that is very, very important.
“It’s quite a simple idea. It makes such a difference to someone who has been through a traumatic time. I know it’s a passion project for the Queen.”