Queen Camilla Just Made History as First Royal Woman to Be Admitted Into a Previous Boys Club After Attending "Secret" Meeting

The Queen will now be a member of an elite organization alongside King Charles.

Queen Camilla wearing a green dress standing next to King Charles who is clapping
(Image credit: Getty Images)

Queen Camilla has been a longtime supporter of organizations that empower women, and this week, she broke a barrier for royal ladies when she was welcomed as a member of an elite private club in London. According to the Daily Mail, The Queen "secretly attended" a meeting of the Garrick Club and her name was accepted as a member after a 193-year ban on female members.

Per the media outlet, the historic private members club only began allowing women as members in 2024, and Queen Camilla is the first female from the Royal Family to be admitted into its ranks. Her membership will be officially confirmed next month, according to the Mail.

King Charles is also said to be a member of the organization, which was founded in 1831 and is one of the oldest private members clubs in the world.

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Queen Camilla wearing a green dress reading from a paper

Queen Camilla attends a reception for The Queen's Reading Room Medals on March 25.

(Image credit: Getty Images)

Queen Camilla holding hands with Jojo Moyes

Queen Camilla meets Me Before You author Jojo Moyes.

(Image credit: Getty Images)

Dame Judi Dench and Welsh actress Siân Phillips were installed as the first female members of the club in 2024, and the organization was originally created as a private members club for “actors and men of refinement and education.” A number of famous faces are members, such as Hugh Bonneville, Benedict Cumberbatch and Stephen Fry, along with numerous leaders in the arts, business and politics.

Queen Camilla has made her own significant contributions to the creative world, and she hosted a reception for her Queen's Reading Room charity on March 25 to present the first Queen’s Reading Room Medals.

The event was attended by prominent authors as well as Hollywood stars like Sigourney Weaver, and King Charles stood by proudly as his wife announced the winners of the National Reading Hero Medal and the Local Reading Hero Medal.

Selina Brown, who founded the Black British Book Festival, was chosen as the national winner, while Liz Waterland, who helped to save Deepings Community Library in England after volunteering for more than a decade.

Kristin Contino
Senior Royal and Celebrity Editor

Kristin Contino is Marie Claire's Senior Royal and Celebrity editor. She's been covering royalty since 2018—including major moments such as the Platinum Jubilee, Queen Elizabeth II’s death and King Charles III's coronation—and places a particular focus on the British Royal Family's style and what it means.

Prior to working at Marie Claire, she wrote about celebrity and royal fashion at Page Six Style and covered royalty from around the world as chief reporter at Royal Central. Kristin has provided expert commentary for outlets including the BBC, Sky News, US Weekly, the Today Show and many others.

Kristin is also the published author of two novels, “The Legacy of Us” and “A House Full of Windsor.” She's passionate about travel, history, horses, and learning everything she can about her favorite city in the world, London.