Additional Coverage:
- Queen Camilla Reflects on Being Nearly Assaulted by Stranger on a Train as a Teenager (usmagazine.com)
Queen Camilla Shares Personal Story of Teen Attack, Expresses Empathy for Victims of Violence
Queen Camilla recently opened up about a harrowing experience from her teenage years, recounting a near-assault on a train. Her candid revelation came during an appearance on BBC Radio 4’s Today, released on Wednesday, December 31st, where she connected her past ordeal to the tragic story of the Hunt family.
“When I was a teenager, I was attacked on a train,” Camilla, 78, shared, admitting she had “sort of forgotten about it” until recently. “But I remember at the time being so angry.”
She detailed how an unknown individual, initially perceived as an “old man” but likely closer to her own age, approached her while she was reading a book. “This boy, man, attacked me, and I did fight back,” she recalled.
The immediate aftermath saw her mother noticing her disheveled appearance: “Why is your hair standing on end? And why is a button missing from your coat?”
Camilla described her initial reaction as pure “anger,” an emotion that “sort of lurked for many years” before the memory was “buried.”
This incident was first brought to public attention in an excerpt from the book Power and the Palace: The Inside Story of the Monarchy and 10 Downing Street, published in the U.K. Times in September.
Author Valentine Low detailed a conversation Camilla had with then-Prime Minister Boris Johnson in 2008, which Johnson then relayed to his communications director Guto Harri. Low’s account stated that Camilla described “some guy was moving his hand further and further” and that she “took off my shoe and whacked him in the nuts with the heel.”
Buckingham Palace had previously declined to comment on the story.
The Queen’s decision to speak publicly now stems from her desire to support John Hunt and his surviving daughter, Amy, who have been tirelessly campaigning against violence against women. Their family endured an unspeakable tragedy in 2024 when John’s wife, Carol, and two daughters, Hannah and Louise, were murdered by Louise’s ex-boyfriend, Kyle Clifford.
Clifford’s horrific acts unfolded in July 2024, months after his split from Louise. He fatally stabbed Carol, sexually assaulted and killed Louise with a crossbow, and then shot Hannah with the same weapon before fleeing.
Hannah, despite her injuries, managed to call the police before succumbing. Clifford was sentenced to life in prison this past March.
Addressing John and Amy directly, Queen Camilla offered words of comfort and admiration. “I would just like to say, wherever your family is now, they would be so proud of you both,” she expressed.
“They must be from above, smiling down on you and thinking, ‘My goodness me, what a wonderful father, husband, sister.’ They’d just be so proud of you both.”
If you or someone you know has been sexually assaulted, please contact the National Sexual Assault Hotline. If you or someone you know is experiencing domestic violence, please call the National Domestic Violence Hotline for confidential support.