Queen Camilla witnessed the pressures facing emergency services on Thursday during a visit to Avon and Somerset Police headquarters in Portishead.
Wearing a pair of headphones, she listened to a real 999 call from a woman reporting her ex-partner on her property.
The Queen was told there were around 34,000 calls about domestic violence each year, a figure she described as “horrendous” and “far too many”, while praising the team for their dedication.
“Sometimes people must be very scared, so it must be difficult to get information out of them,” she noted.
“It’s fascinating to see this and horrible how many calls are coming in.”
Camilla, a long-time advocate for survivors of sexual assault and domestic violence, met with the police’s domestic violence survivors group, set up by Superintendent Sharon Baker, herself a survivor.
She was also welcomed by Chief Constable Sarah Crew, who briefed her on the vital work being done to protect vulnerable people.
