Queen Camilla welcomed one of Europe’s bravest women, Madame Gisèle Pelicot, to Clarence House on Monday.
Pelicot, the 73-year-old French survivor whose bravery during France’s largest rape trial has resonated around the world.
He received France’s highest honor, the Legion of Honor, in 2025, and has become a global symbol of strength after renouncing his legal right.
During the conversation, the Queen did not hide her reaction.
“I never thought before that something could surprise me,” Camilla admitted. “But I was speechless.”
Her ex-husband is currently serving a 20-year prison sentence after drugging and raping her along with other men in a case that shocked France and had repercussions far beyond its borders.
Speaking to the BBC, Pelicot described the moment he learned the whole truth as catastrophic.
“Something exploded inside me,” he said. “It was like a tsunami.”
One of the most painful moments, he revealed in his memoirs. A hymn to life, He was telling his three children what their father had done.
He recalled hearing his daughter scream “almost inhumanly” while his eldest son stood stunned.
Her youngest daughter immediately focused on her well-being, worried that she might harm herself after the revelation.
The Queen has spent decades championing victims and survivors of domestic and sexual abuse, using her platform to highlight often hidden suffering.
He previously wrote to Pelicot after the 2024 trial to express solidarity and support.
Today’s meeting marked the first time the two women met in person.
Photographs released by the Palace show the couple in a warm discussion and smiling.
