The Queen was tremendously affected by the extraordinary courage of Madame Pelicot'

THE Queen sent a message of support to rape survivor Gisele Pelicot after being “tremendously affected” by her high-profile court case.

- Emily Ferguson

Camilla wanted to reach out to Ms Pelicot and praise her “extraordinary dignity and courage” after she waived her anonymity in a horrific mass-rape case involving her ex-husband and 50 other men.

The horrors she endured were widely publicised during a trial that lasted nearly four months.

Ms Pelicot, 72, became a global hero and worldwide symbol in the struggle against sexual violence.

The French woman’s bravery captured the attention of the Queen, with a Palace source revealing she privately contacted Ms Pelicot after the trial ended in December.

The source said: “She was tremendously affected by the Madame Pelicot case in France and that lady’s extraordinary dignity and courage as she put herself in the public eye. As she rightly put it, why should she be made to feel like a victim or hide away in shame?

“And, of course, she helped highlight a very significant societal problem despite all the personal suffering she’d been through.”