Camilla's personal admission to incredible domestic violence campaigners who won Pride of Britain award

Pride of Britain award winner Diana Parkes was gratified by a deeply personal admission from Queen Camilla after setting up a charity to help children affected by domestic violence.

While nothing can ease the pain that Diana Parkes feels after her daughter Joanna Simpson was murdered she says her grandchildren have been her salvation and her charity work has helped keep her going.

Diana’s beloved daughter Joanna was beaten to death by her ex husband as their two young children cowered in a playroom back in 2010. In 2014 she set up a charity to help other children affected by domestic violence and earlier this year she was surprised by Queen Camilla who informed them they were up for a Pride of Britain award.

Thousands of families are affected by domestic abuse deaths every year - in the 12 months ending March 2023, 242 domestic abuse-related deaths were recorded. Despite their heartbreak, Diana and her daughter’s best friend Hetti Barkworth-Nanton are trying to make sure her death has not been in vain. After her murder, they co-founded The Joanna Simpson Foundation to support vulnerable children, which is helping thousands of children affected by domestic abuse and murder.

The inspirational pair were recognised with a Pride of Britain award at a celeb-packed awards ceremony at the Grosvenor Hotel in London. And earlier this month they were surprised by none other than Queen Camilla who spoke to the domestic violence campaigners about how they'd inspired her own work on domestic violence. The Queen revealed how - as a fellow grandmother - she admired Diana for taking in her grandchildren and setting up a foundation to help other children who have lost a parent due to domestic abuse.

“I was absolutely shocked to hear that Camilla said we inspired her work around domestic violence,” Diana told The Mirror at the Pride of Britain awards. “She said as a grandmother she didn’t know if she could do what I had done but of course she could. There was just no question that they (grandchildren) were coming to me. Jo was a very special person, everyone said that," Diana added. "We had hundreds of letters after and nobody could understand the verdict because it was so premeditated. It was such a terrible tragedy I miss her so much - I had no choice but to get on and do it. Jo would be so proud of the children they have been my salvation.”

Queen Camilla has been working to highlight organisations supporting victims of Rape and Sexual Assault for over ten years. After the presentation earlier this month Camilla said: “I think she [Diana] is so strong because not many people would be able to survive the death of a daughter, I admire her more than I can say." Diana and Camilla also talked about how they share the same love for horses, dogs and gardening.

In 2010, Joanna Simpson, 46, was bludgeoned to death in Ascot, Berkshire, with a claw hammer by her estranged husband Robert Brown. Her young children, who were just nine and 10, were in the house. Her body was found five days later buried in Windsor Great Park and Brown was convicted of manslaughter due to diminished responsibility and jailed for 26 years in May 2011.

Diana, who is bringing up her grandchildren, launched the foundation with Hetti in 2014 to help the 130,000 children who are currently in households at risk of serious injury or death and the 200 children who are bereaved through homicide each year. Both were made CBEs in the 2024 New Year’s Honours List in recognition of their tireless work and received a Pride of Britain award this week.

The Pride of Britain awards will be on ITV Thursday, October 24 at 8pm.