What to Know
The royal family is usually very careful about their public image, but they really took a risk this time, and it doesn’t seem to be paying off. On Tuesday, the royals shared a photo of Queen Camilla posing with formerly beloved Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling, and she is getting raked over the coals for this. And during Prime Month, of all times?!
Queen Camilla and J.K. Rowling had a conversation about books, apparently.
On the royals’ official Instagram account, they shared a photo of Camilla and Rowling together at Holyroodhouse, the royal residence in Edinburgh, Scotland, claiming that the two women have a “shared passion for books and a deep commitment to children reading for pleasure.”
“Her Majesty and Ms Rowling discussed the importance of ensuring that young people have access to books and the vital part reading plays in opening doors for future generations,” said the caption on the photo.
Hmm.
J.K. Rowling might be one of the most controversial public figures the royals have posed with.
Rowling might be best known for being the author of the wildly popular Harry Potter series of children’s books that inspired the blockbuster movie franchise, but after that, she’s also widely known as the lady who has been loudly anti-trans on social media every opportunity she gets. So posing with her during Pride Month, of all months, was really a bold choice on the palace’s part.
(Princess Diana wouldn’t have been caught in a photo next to Rowling, that’s for sure.)
Rowling has been sharing this rhetoric for years, and as People pointed out, it seems like her mind hasn’t changed. As recently as May, she called out prime minister Keir Starmer for “getting in an Adviser on Women and Girls who thinks the definition of women and girls includes men and boys” in a post on X after he appointed trans advocate Harriet Harmer to the gig.
The reaction isn’t good, to put it mildly.
Over the years, Camilla has proven to be pretty controversial herself, and this certainly isn’t helping her case, according to the comments on the Instagram post. In fact, the negative comments seem to outnumber the positive ones.
“As an admirer of the Queen and her Reading Room I’m deeply disappointed in her giving a platform to JKR, any month but especially during Pride Month,” one person commented. “There are many other admirable individuals to spotlight who champion reading for children and young people.”
Another commenter wrote, “Very sad to see and read while in some places in England queer books are BANNED from libraries and schools.”
So far, Camilla hasn’t responded to the backlash, but knowing the royals, she will probably never mention it — at least, not publicly.
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