The Royal Family has been forced to limit comments on their official Instagram account after a photo of Queen Camilla with JK Rowling was flooded with trans pride flags and criticism — particularly for being posted on the final day of Pride Month.

The photograph, taken at the Palace of Holyroodhouse in Edinburgh, showed the Queen and the Harry Potter author meeting to discuss "children reading for pleasure". The Royal Family's caption praised their "shared passion for books" and commitment to ensuring young people have access to literature.

But the backlash was swift. Within hours, thousands of commenters had filled the post with trans pride flag emojis and messages accusing the monarchy of giving a platform to someone widely criticised for her views on trans rights.

"All young people? Or only some young people?" one commenter wrote, alongside trans flag emojis. The comment received more than 15,000 likes.

Another said: "As an admirer of the Queen and her Reading Room, I'm deeply disappointed in her giving a platform to JKR, any month but especially during Pride Month. There are many other admirable individuals to spotlight who champion reading for children and young people."

Broadcaster India Willoughby wrote on X: "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."

Activist Aiden Neal added: "The Royal Family should not be posing for photographs with one of the worst trans-baiters in the world today and then posting them on the very platform where she promotes her hate."

One commenter summed up the mood with: "This is in such bad taste. Anyway. Protect the dolls 🏳️⚧️."

By the following day, the Royal Family had restricted commenting on the post entirely. The move was widely discussed on Reddit's r/transgenderuk community, where one user remarked: "Diana would have supported trans people." Another said: "Optically it's fucking horrendous — if you represent the country, why do you only allow some speech?"

The meeting itself came amid a busy period for Rowling, who had recently criticised Sir Keir Starmer for appointing trans supporter Baroness Harriet Harman as an adviser on women and girls. The backlash has raised renewed questions about the monarchy's public positioning on LGBTQ+ issues during Pride Month.