In a powerful and unprecedented disclosure, Queen Camilla has spoken publicly for the first time about being sexually assaulted as a teenager, an experience she says left her feeling "furious" and "angry".
A Long-Hidden Memory Surfaces
The Queen revealed the incident during a special edition of BBC Radio 4's Today programme, guest-edited by Baroness Theresa May, which focused on domestic violence and sexual abuse. She was in conversation with BBC racing commentator John Hunt and his daughter, Amy, following the tragic crossbow killings of Mr Hunt's wife, Carol, and daughters Louise and Hannah in July 2024.
Camilla described how hearing the Hunt family's story encouraged her to share her own. "I remember something that had been lurking in the back of my brain for a very long time," she told them during the interview at Clarence House. "That, when I was a teenager, I was attacked on a train."
The Attack and Fighting Back
The assault, first detailed in the biography Power and the Palace earlier this year, occurred when Camilla was 16 or 17 years old on a train travelling to Paddington Station. She recalled reading a book when a man assaulted her.
"I did fight back," the Queen stated, explaining that she hit her attacker with the heel of her shoe. She reported the man immediately, and he was arrested upon the train's arrival. The ordeal was visibly apparent; she remembered her mother's reaction upon her disembarkation: "'Why is your hair standing on end and why is the button missing from your coat?'"
A Call for Early Education and Respect
The discussion broadened to address the root causes of such violence. Queen Camilla advocated for a greater focus on educating young boys to prevent them from becoming abusive men. "If you can get them early enough and teach them respect for women, I think that's so important to get into schools," she urged. "The more I look at it, it is the most important thing we can do now."
She highlighted that some young men "may have had parents or relatives who've been abusive or done terrible things to them," leading them to believe such behaviour is normal. Breaking this cycle through early intervention is crucial.
Amy Hunt responded to the Queen's revelation with gratitude, saying, "Thank you for sharing that, Your Majesty. It takes a lot to share these things because every woman has a story."
Praise for the Hunt Family's Courage
Throughout the programme, Queen Camilla, a long-term campaigner for domestic abuse victims, praised the strength of John and Amy Hunt. John Hunt spoke of the enduring difficulty of their grief, which "remains really difficult on a minute-by-minute basis."
The Queen offered them heartfelt words of support: "I'd just like to say, wherever your family is now, they'd be so proud of you both. And they must be from above smiling down on you." Her decision to share her personal story underscores a unified message of resilience and the urgent need for societal change to combat abuse.
