Queen Camilla is facing criticism from transgender rights activists after the British royal family posted a photo of her meeting with “Harry Potter” author J.K. Rowling at the tail end of Pride month.
The image, shared to the royal family’s official Instagram account, showed Ms. Rowling and the queen together at the Palace of Holyroodhouse in Edinburgh on Tuesday. The caption said the pair share “a shared passion for books and a deep commitment to children reading for pleasure” and that they had discussed “the importance of ensuring that young people have access to books and the vital part reading plays in opening doors for future generations.”
The post quickly drew a wave of criticism in the comments, many of them tied to Ms. Rowling’s yearslong public stance against allowing transgender women into female-only spaces. One widely liked comment read, “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. There are many other admirable individuals to spotlight who champion reading for children and young people.” Another asked, “During pride month, is a statement,” while a third called the timing “deplorable,” according to Fox News.
Not all the reaction was negative. Some commenters defended the pairing, with one writing that Ms. Rowling “encouraged a whole new generation of children to read again,” Fox News reported.
The backlash comes against the backdrop of a broader, monthslong public fight over Ms. Rowling’s positions on sex and gender identity — one that has repeatedly spilled into Hollywood. Actor Andrew Garfield told a Hits Radio interviewer in March that watching the “Harry Potter” films has become “controversial” because of the author’s views, declining to name her and instead calling her “she that shall remain nameless” — a nod to the villain Voldemort — while accusing her of supporting “inhumane” causes, according to Fox News coverage of the remarks. Mr. Garfield also said he did not support boycotting the franchise outright, citing the work of its cast and crew.
Ms. Rowling has also feuded publicly with “Harry Potter” film alumna Emma Watson. After Ms. Watson offered conciliatory remarks about their relationship on a podcast last September, Ms. Rowling responded on X that Ms. Watson “has so little experience of real life she’s ignorant of how ignorant she is,” according to NBC News. The exchange, dated to September 2025, has continued to color the public conversation around Ms. Rowling’s involvement in the franchise’s HBO reboot.
Ms. Rowling has been outspoken on the issue for several years. After the IOC announced in March 2026 that it would limit eligibility for female Olympic events to biological women beginning with the 2028 Los Angeles Games, Ms. Rowling praised the decision on social media as “a welcome return to fair sport for women and girls,” according to Newsweek. She has said she supports safety for transgender people but opposes redefining legal sex categories, arguing doing so would compromise protections for women and girls.
Buckingham Palace did not address the online reaction to the Camilla-Rowling meeting beyond the original post describing its literary purpose.
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