Queen Camilla has publicly recounted a terrifying sex attack she endured as a teenager for the very first time, revealing she fought back against her assailant on a train to London.
A traumatic memory from the 1960s
The incident, which the Queen described as having "lurked in the back of my brain for a very long time," occurred in the 1960s. Camilla was just 16 or 17 years old when she was attacked by a man while travelling on a train bound for Paddington station.
She recalled the moment she disembarked and was met by her mother, who immediately noticed something was wrong. "Why is your hair standing on end and why is the button missing from your coat?" her mother asked. Camilla's stark reply was: "I had been attacked."
Fighting back against the attacker
In a powerful act of self-defence, the young Camilla did not submit. She fought off the perpetrator, who had tried to grope her. According to accounts, she whacked him in the groin with her shoe, forcing him to retreat.
"I remember at the time being so angry," the Queen, now 78, stated during a special BBC Radio 4's Today programme. She emphasised her response, saying, "I did fight back."
Inspired by a family's courage
The Queen chose to share this deeply personal story after being moved by the resilience of BBC racing commentator John Hunt and his surviving daughter, Amy. Hunt's wife, Carol, and two daughters, Hannah and Louise, were murdered in July 2024 by Louise's ex-boyfriend, Kyle Clifford, who is now serving a whole life order.
Camilla explained that hearing their story compelled her to speak out. "When the subject about domestic abuse came up, and suddenly you hear a story like John and Amy's, it's something that I feel very strongly about," she said.
The Queen's decision to break her decades-long silence on the attack highlights her support for victims of violence and her advocacy in raising awareness about domestic abuse.
