Queen Camilla thinks social media is "terrifying"

Diana Parkes, whose daughter Joanna Simpson was killed at home by her estranged husband, told the queen the scale of domestic abuse is "frightening".

According to the Telegraph, Camilla agreed: "Terrifying. And social media."

Speaking after the queen's departure, Diana said: "We were speaking about that and also sadly how these young boys are stabbing each other and how horrendous that has been now.

"Frightening. These young boys who don't really know what they're doing - and social media plays a huge part in all this.

"The internet has been wonderful, but my god, it has done a lot of damage as well, let's be honest."

Camilla also met with Micala and Lee Trussler, the mother and stepfather of 15-year-old Holly Newton, who was fatally stabbed by her ex-boyfriend in January 2023, about their campaign for the law to be changed so that people under 16 can be classed as victims of domestic abuse.

Micala said afterwards: "She's very interested in our campaign and she's sorry for our loss and that we shouldn't have to be here doing this.

"But yes we are here and that's what we want to do."

During the reception, Camilla cut a birthday cake to mark the 21st anniversary of SafeLives and was presented with a 'Starfish Award' in recognition of her support for survivors and work to raise awareness around domestic abuse.

In an off-the-cuff speech, the queen paid tribute to the charity and reflected on how speaking about domestic abuse had become less "taboo".

She said: "It's touched so many people and it's saved so many lives.

"I would not be standing here if it was 10 years ago, and none of these people would have been standing here because we wouldn't have been talking about it - it was a taboo subject.

"But now here we are, 10 years later, we've got survivors telling their stories. Years ago they would have been too ashamed to have come forward to tell their tales, but now they'll get up and they'll talk and they'll inspire others to talk.

"So it's just to say we've come a really long way, so we must go on doing the same thing."