Written by 
The Queen comes face-to-face with a beauty pageant queen who suffered domestic abuse, in Her Majesty’s new documentary about eradicating domestic violence.
Her Majesty meets Rehema Muthamia, 30, at Buckingham Palace, a former Miss England, and one of several domestic violence survivors who tell their harrowing stories in the film, Her Majesty The Queen: Behind Closed Doors, tonight on ITV.
The Royal wants to eradicate abuse and has made it a personal campaign.
The film reveals that one in five adults experience domestic abuse in their lifetime, and it is estimated that around three women die by suicide because of domestic abuse every week.
The 90-minute documentary follows The Queen over the course of a year as she attends official engagements and never-before-seen private meetings with survivors.
Former beauty queen Rehema Muthamia told the Queen at the Palace: “Once you start speaking, it’s very empowering. From that moment you feel you’ve taken back the control that they took from you.
“I had the opportunity to enter into a pageant of all things, and I won and became Miss England’s 2021, and it was so funny that a beauty pageant helped me turn my pain into a purpose.
“Life doesn’t end after abuse. I think it’s just a new chapter and you become a stronger woman from it.”
The Queen praised Rehema, and other survivors for telling their story: “I think through getting some of these wonderfully brave survivors to actually get up and talk about it has made people sit up and listen.
“There are a lot of feisty women out there who’ve been through it, come out the other end and are now telling others how to do it. And that’s what we want.”
Earlier in the film Rehema told her story about being stalked by an ex-partner.
She told the doc: “I got a knock to say my ex-boyfriend was outside my block of flats. And at 10pm at night.
“I just didn’t feel safe anywhere.”
Asked in the film about the shame many victims feel, she said: “It feels like a dirty secret that you have. And it’s that shame of, ‘I can’t tell other people about it because they’re going to look at me differently’.”
On Her Majesty’s important role, Rehema said: “She is giving survivors like me a voice.”
She also paid tribute to the Queen on her website, where she helps other victims: “It was a huge milestone, and I’m grateful for the opportunity to reach more people.”
Her Majesty The Queen: Behind Closed Doors, Monday 11 November 2024, 9pm on ITV1, ITVX, STV and STV Player