Man assaulted on the train Queen Camilla describes incident with groper
The fact that the current Queen Camilla already knew how to defend herself as a young girl has been a topic of conversation for months. Now she talks about it herself - and praises the commitment of the survivors of a brutal crime.
31.12.2025, 19:15
dpa
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- The British Queen Camilla was attacked by a man when she was a teenager.
- The assault on Camilla has been known since September, but the Queen has never spoken publicly about it herself.
- Now she wants to speak out herself because domestic violence has been a taboo subject for too long.
Queen Camilla has spoken publicly for the first time about being assaulted by a man during her teenage years. When she was traveling by train in the 1960s, a man assaulted her, Camilla told the BBC on Wednesday. "I was reading my book, and you know, this boy, this man, attacked me and I fought back," she said. "I remember getting off the train and my mother looking at me and saying, "Why is your hair standing on end?" and "Why is there a button missing from your jacket?""
Queen, now 78, said the attack enraged her, but she kept quiet for years until she heard from other women who shared their stories. Now she wants to speak out herself because domestic violence has been a taboo subject for too long. Many people don't realize how bad the situation is.
"I thought to myself, if I've got a tiny soapbox to stand on, I want to stand on it," said Camilla, alluding to the English custom of using a soapbox as a makeshift platform during public impromptu speeches to be better seen and heard. "There's not much I can do except talk to people and bring them together."
Sympathy for John Hunt and his daughter
The wife of King Charles III spoke out in a group interview with former racing commentator John Hunt and his daughter Amy. Hunt's wife Carol and his daughters Louise and Hannah were murdered in their home by Louise's ex-partner in July last year.
The Queen praised the two survivors' commitment to tackling domestic violence. "Wherever your family are now, they would be so proud of you both," Camilla said. "They must be smiling down on you from above and thinking, "My goodness, what a wonderful, wonderful father, husband, (what a wonderful) sister.""
A blow with the heel
The assault on Camilla has been known since September, but the Queen has never spoken publicly about it herself. Former Times correspondent Valentine Low writes in his book "Power and the Palace" that Camilla was on the train on the way to London Paddington when a man next to her reached out and tried to touch her. Camilla remembered her mother's advice, took off her shoe and hit the groper in the privates with her heel. When she arrived at Paddington, she reported the assault to a man in uniform.
According to Low, Camilla told former Prime Minister Boris Johnson about the incident when he was Mayor of London from 2008 to 2016. Advisers to Johnson considered the incident a reason for Camilla to support charities that work with victims of domestic violence, Low said.