Queen Camilla Presented With Barbie Doll in Her Likeness at Women of the World Reception

Queen Camilla was presented with a Barbie doll in her likeness at a star-studded Women of the World (WOW) reception on Tuesday at Buckingham Palace.

The doll was dressed in a replica of the outfit she wore to the event, a royal blue Fiona Clare dress paired with an Amanda Wakeley coat.

“Thank you very, very much indeed. It’s brilliant,” Queen Camilla said. “You’ve taken about 50 years off my life.”

She added: “We should all have a Barbie!”

Social media reaction to the doll included plenty of criticism about its creative interpretation of the Queen – which was unveiled on a Royal Family Instagram video complete with Dua Lipa’s Barbie soundtrack hit Dance the Night – but royal watchers were in awe of the tiny details Mattel – the toy company that produces the doll – got right.

“Love all the details, from her bracelets to her engagement ring and the
@WOWisGlobal brooch, not to mention that is one of my favourite outfits. How do we get one @Mattel,” one user said on X.

The presentation of the royal Barbie was made onboard the WOW Girls Festival bus, which had been visiting schools and community centres across the country promoting gender equality.

Camilla serves as president of the WOW Festival – which is described as the world’s biggest, most comprehensive festival celebrating women, girls and non-binary people.

Joining Camilla at the palace event was Dame Helen Mirren – who was also presented with a Barbie in her likeness for International Women’s Day last week – Baroness Doreen Lawrence, Spice Girl Mel B and Dame Kelly Holmes, while fellow royals the Duchess of Gloucester and Queen Mathilde of Belgium also made an appearance. A group of schoolgirls were also in attendance.

 

Camilla isn’t the first royal to get the Barbie treatment. Her predecessor, Queen Elizabeth, had a Barbie made in her likeness in honour of her 96th birthday and to commemorate her Platinum Jubilee in 2022 – the massive celebration that marked her 70th year on the throne.

In contrast to Camilla’s more professional Barbie attire, Queen Elizabeth’s doll donned one of the monarch’s most iconic looks, an elegant ivory gown and blue ribbon adorned with the Royal Family’s decorations of order. The doll also came complete with a replica of Queen Mary’s Fringe Tiara, which Queen Elizabeth II wore on her wedding day.

Meanwhile, Tuesday’s event wasn’t all fun and games (and toys).

Camilla delivered a powerful speech during the event, complete with a fascinating bit of royal history and what she termed a “show and tell.”

“I have here two stones that, on 27 May 1914, were thrown at the palace during a suffragette protest,”  she said holding up the pair of stones. “The label on this one reads: ‘If a constitutional deputation is refused, we must present a stone message.’ This one says: ‘Constitutional methods being ignored drive us to window smashing.’

She explained that Queen Mary, wife of King George V, ordered the stones to be kept.

“I believe they represented hope to the women who threw them – hope that, in the future, they would not be victims of their history, nor of the social and economic forces that were ranged against gender equality,” Camilla continued. “Above all, they represented the hope that it was possible.”

“Today, 110 years later, you have been invited into Buckingham Palace because you too represent hope for women in the present and in the future.”

Camilla’s involvement with WOW is one of the many women’s causes the Queen supports. Before taking the throne, she was adamant about continuing her fight for women, which has included initiatives to support victims of rape and domestic violence.

“If I start something like this, I’m not going to give up mid-channel, I’m just going to keep going to try and help,” she said in an interview with BBC before taking the throne. “I hope I should be doing it for a lifetime.”

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