Queen Camilla Fought Off Teen Train Attacker in 1960s

Queen Camilla revealed in a new book, Power and the Palace by Valentine Low, that she fought off an attempted sexual assault as a teenager by hitting her attacker with her shoe. The incident occurred when she was about 16 or 17 years old on a train to London’s Paddington station, where she bravely reported the man to the police, leading to his arrest. This personal experience, shared during a 2008 meeting with then-London Mayor Boris Johnson, is said to have inspired her longstanding commitment to supporting victims of domestic and sexual violence, including opening rape crisis centers. Boris Johnson’s former communications director, Guto Harri, described the conversation and Johnson’s admiration for Camilla, highlighting the serious nature of the discussion about her assault as a schoolgirl. The Queen has not publicly spoken about the attack, but a source close to her expressed hope that the book's publication would help destigmatize sexual assault and empower other survivors to seek help. While Buckingham Palace did not approve the book, the Queen took a pragmatic approach to its release, focusing on the broader issues surrounding the topic.