Gisele Pelicot is the French woman who became an international heroine in recent years. Pelicot’s husband spent years drugging her and inviting men to come to their home to rape his unconscious wife. As a victim of hundreds of crimes, Gisele Pelicot refused her right to privacy to take all of her abusers to trial in open court. She has spoken out repeatedly about her ordeal in order to get justice for herself and other victims. Dozens of men were convicted. Many prominent women wrote letters of support to Pelicot, including Queen Camilla. Gisele Pelicot even spoke about how Camilla’s letter really moved her and she really appreciated Camilla’s words. Well, Pelicot has written a memoir, and she stopped by the palace to see Camilla.
The Queen has told rape survivor Gisèle Pelicot she was left “speechless” by the account of her ordeal in her new memoir. A long-time campaigner against domestic violence and sexual abuse, the Queen invited Ms Pelicot to Clarence House after reading her book in “two days”.
“I couldn’t put it down,” she told the 73-year-old, whose former husband was jailed for 20 years in 2024 for drugging and raping her and allowing other men to rape her while she was unconscious. The abuse lasted almost a decade, with 50 men found guilty of rape or sexual offences following a trial in Avignon, France.
Since waiving her right to anonymity as a survivor of sexual abuse, saying she wanted shame to fall on her abusers, not herself, Ms Pelicot has become a global feminist icon. Her memoir, A Hymn to Life, was released in 22 languages last week, with a launch at London’s Royal Festival Hall on Friday that featured readings from Hollywood actresses Kate Winslet, Dame Kristin Scott Thomas and Juliet Stevenson.
On Monday, Ms Pelicot had a 30-minute meeting with the Queen at her official London residence, where Her Majesty told her: “I’ve met so many survivors of rape and sexual abuse I never thought I could be shocked by anything any more, but I was shocked at your case – it left me speechless.”
Ms Pelicot was joined by her new partner, Jean-Loup Agopian, a retired Air France steward, as well as her literary and legal team. She spoke to the Queen through an interpreter. Her Majesty’s opening words after greeting her guest and Mr Agopian were in French. She joked how she studied the language “60 years ago” but had “forgotten” it all.
During the informal chat, Ms Pelicot talked about receiving “incredible strength” from people. In response, the Queen told the 73-year-old “you have so much support”. The Queen also mentioned the standing ovations the survivor received from the sell-out audience of more than 2,000 on Friday night at her book launch.
Nothing I’m about to say is directed at Gisele Pelicot and the ordeal she endured. She’s incredible, brave and she has enormous courage. She has every right to take inspiration from whoever she wants, and she has every right to meet with Camilla and whoever else. Put that to the side. I find it galling that Camilla has chosen this moment to go all-in on her anti-sexual/domestic-violence work while saying absolutely nothing about the predators in her family. Her degenerate brother-in-law lied for years about his involvement with a sex-trafficking PDFile. Her degenerate brother-in-law was abusing trafficked girls and women for years, and Camilla is incapable of making a statement centering Andrew’s victims and Epstein’s victims.
Photos courtesy of Avalon Red.
