As King Charles III and Queen Camilla begin a rare U.S. state visit, backlash has erupted online after the royal family shared a photo of Camilla posing with J.K. Rowling in Scotland. Critics cite Rowling’s long-running anti-trans comments and backlash in rece
King Charles III and Queen Camilla landed in the United States to begin the first state visit by a British monarch since 2007, but attention soon turned to a different image—one posted from Scotland.
Queen Camilla faced criticism on social media after the royal family shared a photo of her posing with J.K. Rowling, the British author who has been under scrutiny for promoting anti-transgender views. The wife of King Charles III joined Rowling at the Palace of Holyroodhouse in Edinburgh on June 30. according to an X post from the royal family.
The post said the two share a “passion for books and a deep commitment to children reading for pleasure.” It described a conversation in which “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.”.
In the image, Queen Camilla wore a baby-blue collared dress. Rowling was photographed wearing a white blazer over a navy-blue dress shirt and matching pants.
Critics zeroed in on Rowling’s record. One X user wrote: “The Royal Family standing proudly with probably the biggest trans hate preacher in the world. Shows how out of touch the monarchy is. Tick-tock.” Another said. “This is in such bad taste. ” adding that the post landed on the final day of LGBTQ+ Pride Month. Others accused the monarchy of bad judgment in publicizing the meeting.
Rowling has drawn that kind of condemnation for years. Since 2019, critics have labeled Rowling a “terf,” an acronym for a trans-exclusionary radical feminist. The writer has previously expressed anti-trans rhetoric on social media that conflates sex with gender and suggested that someone changing their biological sex threatens her own gender identity.
Backlash intensified again in April 2025 after Rowling was photographed smoking a cigarette while celebrating the U.K. Supreme Court’s ruling that stripped trans women of legal protections under Britain’s Equality Act, regardless of gender recognition certificates.
In several posts on April 16, 2025, Rowling celebrated “terfs” and said her husband Neil Murray referred to the ruling as “TERF VE Day,” a play on V-E Day, the formal end of World War II and Nazi occupation in Europe.
GLAAD, a global LGBTQ+ advocacy and non-profit organization, has identified Rowling as one of the most prominent anti-trans voices in the entertainment industry. GLAAD has pointed to Rowling’s financial involvement in the U.K. Supreme Court case and her history of online anti-trans remarks.
On a 2023 episode of her podcast, “The Witch Trials of J.K. Rowling. ” Rowling explained her decision to speak out about her beliefs. saying: “I absolutely knew that if I spoke out. many people who would love my books would be deeply unhappy with me.” She added: “Time will tell whether I’ve got this wrong. ” and: “I can only say that I’ve thought about it deeply and hard and long and I’ve listened. I promise. to the other side.”.
As Buckingham Palace was reached for comment about the photo, the state-visit moment—meant to project stability and continuity—ran into a fresh wave of political and cultural friction online, with the debate centered not on books, but on who is seen beside them.
Queen Camilla King Charles III J.K. Rowling Buckingham Palace White House state visit LGBTQ+ Pride Month trans rights GLAAD UK Supreme Court Equality Act