Queen Camilla has spoken publicly for the first time about being physically assaulted on a train as a teenager, describing how she was 'so angry' and fought back. In an interview with BBC Radio 4's Today programme, she recalled the attack, saying she had 'sort of forgotten' the incident but that the memory had 'lurked for a long time'.
'I was reading my book and this boy, man, attacked me, and I did fight back,' she told the programme. She remembered getting off the train and her mother asking why her hair was standing on end and why a button was missing from her coat. 'But I remember anger, and I was so furious about it, and it's sort of lurked for many years.'
The interview, guest-edited by former prime minister Theresa May, also featured racing commentator John Hunt and his daughter Amy, whose wife and daughters were murdered in July 2024. Queen Camilla praised their courage and said: 'I'd just like to say, wherever your family is now, they'd be so proud of you both.'
John Hunt described the ongoing difficulty of coping with the loss, while Amy highlighted the issue of domestic abuse and the radicalisation of young men online. The queen said talking about such experiences could be 'cathartic' and noted that domestic violence has been a taboo subject for too long. 'I thought if I've got a tiny soap box to stand on I'd like to stand on it,' she added.
