Duchess Camilla takes on Queen's annual duty as she shares heartfelt message of hope

Duchess Camilla takes on the Queen's annual duty and discusses the hard-hitting facts of an important cause

Chris Jackson - WPA Pool/Getty Images)
(Image credit: Chris Jackson - WPA Pool/Getty Images)

Duchess Camilla takes on the Queen's duty to the Women's Institute as she opens up in an interview for their magazine. The Duchess' open dialogue is an insight into what's to come—but does it mean she will one day be Queen?


Duchess Camilla has taken on the Queen's duty to the Women's Institute (WI). The news comes as Duchess Camilla and Prince Charles jet off on their first royal overseas tour in two years, following an important call with Queen.

Each year, the Queen makes an annual visit to the WI at West Newton near her Sandringham estate in Norfolk. However, in light of claims that the Queen, 'will not undertake events,' such as large-scale honors again, it's believed that her daughter-in-law will take on this mantel. 

Not only is the 74-year old a long-time member of Tetbury WI and Llandovery WI, but she's also on the cover of the WI's official member magazine this month. The hard-working royal is discussing the very serious issue of domestic violence, as part of the WI’s No More Violence Against Women initiative—which launched in 2019.

In the article, the Duchess pays tribute to all the important work done by WI members in this campaign and in previous years also.

"To all of you, and to every single WI member across England, Wales, and the islands who has supported women’s refuges—thank you," she says. "You will never know how many lives you have, quite literally, saved."

"Two women are killed every week by a current or former partner in England and Wales," she adds. "This tragic statistic has not altered in several decades. Thousands of lives have been lost."

"Countless more have had to leave their homes and one in four women across the UK continues to live with abuse," explains Camilla.

"This is particularly in our minds as we approach Christmas when rates of domestic violence rise significantly, but with abusive partners at home more it can be harder to call for help."

In the article, the Duchess of Cornwall, she gives a brief history of the work of individuals and organizations to support women who fear for their safety. 

The WI’s No More Violence Against Women initiative launched in 2019, and back in 1975 the WI campaigned to fund refuges in every county in the UK. The organization also worked hard to make sure domestic violence survivors were able to access justice through the courts in 1988 and also to adequately define domestic violence under UK law in 1993.

As time passes, it's increasingly clear that Duchess Camilla’s royal role is ‘to be expanded’ amid the Queen’s health concerns. As Princess Anne claims 'Camilla will never be a true queen' while they quarrel about titles—it's unlikely she'll ever step entirely into her mother-in-law's shoes.

Aoife Hanna
Junior News Editor

Aoife is an Irish journalist and writer with a background in creative writing, comedy, and TV production.

Formerly woman&home's junior news editor and a contributing writer at Bustle, her words can be found in the Metro, Huffpost, Delicious, Imperica and EVOKE.

Her poetry features in the Queer Life, Queer Love anthology.

Outside of work you might bump into her at a garden center, charity shop, yoga studio, lifting heavy weights, or (most likely) supping/eating some sort of delicious drink/meal.