Queen Camilla has publicly recounted a train assault from her teens, saying she "fought back" and later reported the attacker at Paddington station. Excerpts from Valentine Low’s book Power and the Palace include additional details attributed to Guto Harri, who relayed an account that Camilla defended herself with her shoe. She raised the episode during a BBC Radio 4 discussion on violence against women, underscoring the connection between her personal experience and her advocacy work.
Queen Camilla Reveals Teen Train Assault, Says She "Fought Back" — Reported Attacker At Paddington
Britain's Queen Camilla attends the Christmas Morning Service at Sandringham Church on December 25, 2025, in Sandringham, Norfolk. - Samir Hussein/WireImage/Getty Images
Queen Camilla has spoken publicly for the first time about an assault she said she endured on a train as a teenager, telling BBC Radio 4 that she had to "fight back" and later reported the attack at Paddington station.
Her account on BBC Radio 4
Speaking on the Today program, Camilla recalled: "When I was a teenager, I was attacked on a train. I’d sort of forgotten about it, but I remember at the time being so angry." She added: "(It was) somebody I didn’t know. I was reading my book, and this boy, man, attacked me, and I did fight back."
"I did what my mother taught me to. I took off my shoe and whacked him in the nuts with the heel," Camilla was reported to have told others, according to published accounts.
After getting off the train, Camilla said her mother noticed her hair was "standing on end" and a button was missing from her coat — details that underline the physical nature of the assault. She told the program the memory has been "lurking in the back of my brain for a very long time."
Context and earlier reporting
Camilla disclosed the incident during a radio discussion focused on violence against women. The program also featured BBC commentator John Hunt and members of his family; Hunt’s wife, Carol, and two daughters, Louise and Hannah, were killed by Louise’s ex-partner, and the couple’s surviving daughter, Amy, also joined the conversation.
Excerpts published earlier this year from Valentine Low’s book Power and the Palace included additional detail attributed to Guto Harri, a former communications director to Boris Johnson. Harri’s account—based on what he said Camilla told others—says the incident occurred when she was about 16 or 17 on a train to Paddington and that she asserted herself and reported the attack on arrival. Buckingham Palace did not issue an official statement when the book was published.
Camilla’s advocacy
Camilla, who became Queen in 2022, has made campaigning on violence against women and girls a priority. Last year she worked with an all-female production team on a documentary in which she pledged to continue efforts to end domestic abuse. Her radio remarks connected a personal experience to the broader issue of gender-based violence.
Reporting contributions acknowledged from CNN’s Jack Guy; this article retains verified quotes and published accounts while maintaining neutral wording about events described in third-party books and interviews.
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