Queen Camilla was a guest at the Ending Violence Against Women and Girls (EVAWG) Summit at Marlborough College on Friday. The event was organised by one of her Queen's Companions, Lady Lansdowne.
At the event, the royal listened to speeches by Labour MP Jess Phillips and Dame Nicole Jacobs, the Domestic Abuse Commissioner for England and Wales, before delivering her own five-minute speech.
Speaking without notes, the royal praised campaigners and victims of domestic abuse who have spoken out about what they have faced. At the start of her speech, she highlighted a previous address from Hetti Barkworth-Nanton CBE, the chair of the board at Refuge, who recounted the death of her best friend, Jo Simpson, at the hands of her estranged husband.
"It was one of the bravest things I’ve ever seen," Camilla said. "As her best friend, she got up with such dignity and told this horrific story. She is one of the real heroes of this cause."
Camilla continued: "I want to say a huge thanks to you all and to everyone. As a resident of Wiltshire I am deeply impressed that they are leading the way to ending domestic violence.
"I want to say the real heroes are the survivors. Not the victims. The survivors who come forward and tell us all their stories. It's terrifying to get up onto a platform and talk about something so horrific, the things that have happened to them, to stand in front of an audience and talk.
© Getty Images"I just want to applaud them. Talking is what we have to do. Domestic abuse was a taboo subject and nobody talked about it. It was hush-hush. Now people are getting up and talking about it. We might be able to put an end to it."
During the visit, Camilla also spoke with former Love Island and Strictly Come Dancing star Zara McDermott, who campaigns against revenge porn after falling victim to it.
Camilla's emotional outing
The royal had another moving outing to attend this week, when on Wednesday she joined King Charles and Prince William as they commemorated the 60th anniversary of the Aberfan disaster, which led to the deaths of 144 people, mostly children.
The royals laid wreaths in the memorial garden for Pantglas Junior School, and greeted well-wishers before meeting survivors, bereaved families and rescuers in the community centre.
In a short speech inside the hall, the King described the disaster as "the saddest and most tragic of days imaginable".
He said: "We have heard stories of heartbreak but also of heroism. We have heard of the most agonising grief but also of the most inspiring grace.
© Getty Images"Through all the years, your incomparable spirit has shone all the more brightly for the darkness which it has overcome. No one should ever have to bear what you as a community have endured, but no one could have borne it with greater strength, resilience or hope.
"So please know how deeply we feel with your sorrow, how greatly we admire your strength and how you will always be in our hearts."
