Queen Camilla faces backlash for capping off Pride Month with J.K. Rowling

Jami Ganz, New York Daily News on Jun 30, 2026

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Queen Camilla capped off Pride Month with a dose of controversy, sharing a photo of herself with J.K. Rowling, who in recent years has fallen from favor with remarks widely viewed as blatantly transphobic.

The queen consort, 78, posed with the 60-year-old author at the Palace of Holyroodhouse in Edinburgh, according to the portrait of the pair shared Tuesday on the royal family’s verified Instagram account.

“Her Majesty and Ms Rowling discussed the importance of ensuring that young people have access to books and the vital part reading plays in opening doors for future generations,” read the caption, which pointed to Camilla and Rowling’s “shared passion for books and a deep commitment reading for pleasure.”

The comments section was none too pleased that the royal was spotlighting Rowling, with a slew of users adorning their comments with emojis of the light blue, pink and white transgender pride flag.

“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,” read one comment, liked by nearly 6,000. “There are many other admirable individuals to spotlight who champion reading for children and young people.”

“Trans rights are human rights,” wrote multiple commenters.

“There’s a lot of other children’s authors (who have published kids books more recently than 20 years ago) that you could have worked with on this,” said another.

“All young people? Or only some young people?” read another comment, liked by over 4,000.

Last week marked 29 years since Rowling published the first “Harry Potter” book — “Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone” in the U.K., “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone” in the U.S.

Though still a pop culture staple for millennials, the legacy of “Harry Potter,” which spans books, video games, films and an upcoming HBO series, has soured for many in recent years.

Though Rowling maintains she is not transphobic, the LGBTQ community and its allies disagree. Among those who have disavowed Rowling’s point of view are “Harry Potter” stars Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson and Rupert Grint.

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