ROYAL FAMILY NEWSQueen Camilla 'Whacked' Sexual Assaulter on Train With Her Shoe, Bombshell Book Claims
Queen Camilla fought off a train attacker as a teenager, according to the book 'Power and the Palace: The Inside Story of the Monarchy.'
Sept. 1 2025, Updated 12:20 p.m. ET
Queen Camilla revealed a harrowing experience from her teenage years, where she fought off an attacker using her high heel.
This shocking revelation comes from former royal correspondent Valentine Low's upcoming book, Power and the Palace: The Inside Story of the Monarchy.
In an excerpt shared by the Sunday Times, Low recounted a 2008 tea at Clarence House with then-London Mayor Boris Johnson and his ex-communications director Guto Harri, where Camilla opened up about the traumatic incident.
Queen Camilla recalled the incident from her teenage years in a conversation with Boris Johnson.
Harri noted, "They obviously got on like a house on fire."
He continued, "He was making guttural noises about how much he admired and liked her. But the serious conversation they had was about her being the victim of an attempted sexual assault when she was a schoolgirl."
Camilla, now 78, shared to Johnson that the event took place on a train to Paddington when she was around 16 or 17 years old. Harri described the ordeal, stating: "Some guy was moving his hand further and further," prompting Johnson to ask how Camilla responded.
Queen Camilla said her attacker was arrested after she reported the assault to a uniformed man.
"I did what my mother taught me to. I took off my shoe and whacked him in the nuts with the heel," she allegedly told Johnson, according to Harri. Reflecting on the story, Harri remarked that Camilla remained "self-possessed enough" to "jump off the train" and report the incident to a man in uniform, proclaiming, "That man just attacked me."
Following the alleged attack, the perpetrator was reportedly arrested. Harri mentioned that this incident motivated Johnson to launch three rape crisis centers in London, noting, "Nobody asked why the interest, why the commitment… But that's what it went back to."
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Boris Johnson later launched three rape crisis centers in London, inspired by Camilla’s story.
An insider informed the Daily Mail that Camilla, who married King Charles in 2005, shares her experience with those close to her, feeling it could be a "positive outcome" if her story supports other women.
The source emphasized that Camilla does not avoid discussing the incident out of "shame," but rather because "it simply happened a very long time ago." She has always maintained that "other women's stories are much more important than her own."
'Power and the Palace: The Inside Story of the Monarchy' also touches upon King Charles III and Queen Elizabeth II.
Aside from this, Power and the Palace: The Inside Story of the Monarchy reportedly revealed Queen Elizabeth II's private views on the Brexit, with her allegedly believing that the U.K. "shouldn't leave the EU" before the 2016 referendum. It also alleged that Queen Elizabeth II was more politically outspoken in private meetings with ministers than is generally known. For example, she reportedly did not approve of King Charles III writing letters to ministers on political issues.
The book claims that King Charles III was left out of the loop during discussions about the 2013 Succession to the Crown Act, and Johnson's alleged attempt to visit the Queen while infected with COVID-19.
