Queen Camilla fought off attacker with shoe as teenager, book reveals
Queen Camilla reportedly defended herself from an attempted indecent assault as a teenager by using the heel of her shoe, according to the new book Power and the Palace by former Times Royal editor Valentine Low.
The incident, said to have occurred when Camilla was 16 or 17, took place on a train to Paddington Station. The teenage Camilla Shand reportedly used a shoe to strike the man who was touching her, following advice from her mother. Upon arriving in London, she reported the assault to station staff, and the man was arrested, News.Az reports, citing BBC.
Low shared that Camilla recounted the story to Boris Johnson in 2008, when he was Mayor of London. “She did the responsible thing,” he told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme. “Not only was she resourceful and strong, she was a responsible citizen in making sure the man was arrested.”
Much of Queen Camilla’s recent public work has focused on supporting survivors of domestic violence, sexual assault, and rape. She is a patron of the charity SafeLives and has visited women’s refuges and rape crisis centres across the UK and internationally. In her speeches, she has emphasized the courage of survivors and the importance of removing stigma and fear.
In 2020, she said: “Through my work, I have talked to many women who have lived with coercive control and domestic violence and, thankfully, come out at the other end as the victors not the victims… They are some of the bravest people I have ever met.”
At a 2025 reception for SafeLives at Clarence House, she reflected on the progress made in discussing domestic abuse: “It was a taboo subject. Nobody actually wanted to talk about it. But now survivors are telling their stories and inspiring others to speak out.”
Royal sources note that the Queen has never previously shared her own experience publicly, as she wanted the focus to remain on the victims she supports rather than on herself. Low added that her advocacy stems from years of listening to survivors’ stories, not from this personal incident.
The sources say that if discussing the Queen’s past helps destigmatize experiences that many young girls still face today, it turns a negative episode into a positive contribution.
Similar news
