Queen Camilla Branded “Out of Touch” After J.K. Rowling Photo Share on Last Day of Pride Month
A royal engagement that should have been about celebrating children’s reading has instead brought the Royal Family into the online debate about Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling‘s controversial stance on transgender issues.
On Tuesday, June 30, the Royal Family’s official social media accounts shared a photo of Queen Camilla meeting with Rowling at Holyroodhouse in Edinburgh, Scotland. The pair came together to discuss the importance of young people having access to books and how the future success of new generations is helped along through reading.
From that perspective, it was not surprising that Camilla was the one meeting up with Rowling. During lockdown, the Queen’s Reading Room charity was born from Camilla’s online book club, and she has previously listed the Harry Potter novels among her favorite books. This was also the subject of the social media post, which included the caption mentioning the pair’s “shared passion for books and a deep commitment to children reading for pleasure.”
What was not obviously mentioned anywhere in the post was reference to the thing that Rowling has become infamous for in the last several years; her long-running and devisive opinions on the transgender community. Since 2019, the author’s views, shared mostly via her X account, have made her one of the most polarizing public figures in Britain. This aspect did not go unmentioned by those who saw the post, especially considering its timing – the last day of Pride Month.
The Royal Family’s Social Media Managers Made a Huge Error
Although no one really expects this kind of meeting to not happen at all, the decision to post the photo was clearly an error of judgment by whoever runs the royal social media accounts. It was also one that should have been quite easy to avoid by simply posting it the following day. Instead, critics of Rowling and the monarchy called the Royal Family “out of touch” and “tone-deaf.”
One of the most-liked comments on the post was from a user who admitted to being an admirer of Camilla’s Reading Room project, but felt “deeply disappointed” by the Queen giving a platform during “any month but especially during Pride Month.” That comment alone soared with more than 14,000 likes. Broadcaster India Willoughby joined the conversation, going even further and writing that the LGBT community was entitled to be disgusted and that it was “ludicrous” to think Camilla or her advisors were unaware of how the post would land with readers.
The note of royal advisors having a lot to answer for in this case is completely justified. The Royal Family obviously employ teams of people to run their social media interactions, as well as be aware of and avoid exactly this kind of embarrassing situation. The fault lies in these advisors much more than with Camilla, from the timing of the arranged meeting to the posting of the image all happening around Pride Month.
J.K. Rowling Continues to Divide the Internet
Naturally, social media is completely divided on any subject, and this was no different. Plenty of comments jumped to defend Camilla, and there were those who argued that the meeting’s focus on literacy and Rowling’s part in encouraging a whole generation of children to get into books earned her a position in the conversation regardless of her personal views and opinions on other matters. This kind of debate is one that has become increasingly prominent in the last several years thanks to divisive political figures and social choices becoming commonplace.
For the monarchy, as an institution that works hard to stay above this kind of controversy, walking into one of the most fiercely debated subjects on the most symbolically loaded day possible is an oversight that should never have been allowed to happen. It is likely a mistake that will not be made again.
(featured image: X.com/Royal Family)
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