Camilla’s lifelong vow on domestic violence

Duchess of Cornwall says her future title is already helping boost campaigns that are dear to her heart

‘We have got to go back to the beginning and just build up this idea that you have to have respect for human beings’

THE Duchess of Cornwall will not stop campaigning for the causes she believes in when she becomes Queen Consort, she has vowed.

The Duchess, speaking in an interview at Clarence House, suggested that the confirmation of her future title has already boosted her charity campaigns.

Saying the Queen’s personal support for her future title was a “great honour”, she pledged to “keep up” with issues such as domestic violence for “a lifetime”.

She today calls for schools to teach “respect” to help prevent violence against women, and stop offenders “treating women like chattels and people thinking they can get away with it”.

Earlier this month, as the Queen marked reaching the milestone of 70 years on the throne, she asked the British public and the Commonwealth to welcome the Duchess as “Queen Consort” when the time comes for the Prince of Wales to be King.

“It is my sincere wish that, when that time comes, Camilla will be known as Queen Consort as she continues her own loyal service,” she said.

The Duchess has given an interview to BBC Radio 4’s Woman’s Hour and BBC Breakfast television, acknowledging the gesture and suggesting it had already helped give a bigger platform for her work to campaign against domestic violence. “Of course it’s a great honour,” she said. “It couldn’t be anything else. But it does help it.”

As part of the programme, the Duchess was reunited with Diana Parkes, whose daughter, Joanna Simpson, was killed by her husband in 2010.

The Duchess has credited the moment of hearing her story as the turning point that inspired her work with domestic abuse victims.

“I’m going to keep up with these causes,” the Duchess said. “You know if I start something like this, I’m not going to give up mid-channel, I’m just going to keep going to try to help the likes of people like Diana. I hope I should be doing it for a lifetime.” The Duchess used the interview to call for a “culture change” to tackle violence against women beginning with teaching “respect” in school.

“I think children at school have got to be taught respect. We have got to go back to the beginnings and just build up this idea that you have to have respect for human beings. It’s treating women like chattels and people thinking they can get away with it.”

Asked about the impact lockdown had on domestic abuse, she said: “I don’t think it’s got any better. I think the lockdown was terrible because people couldn’t escape. And you see the numbers have gone up. But I think it’s drawn a lot of people’s attention to it.”

The interview will be aired on BBC Radio 4’s and from 6am today.