Queen Camilla opens up for the first time about a teenage train assault
In a candid BBC Radio 4 interview, Queen Camilla recounts a traumatic attack she experienced as a teenager, using her story to renew focus on violence against women and the need to support survivors
Queen Camilla shares a long-hidden personal trauma
Queen Camilla has spoken for the first time publicly about being attacked on a train as a teenager, an incident she claimed had stayed with her for decades. The Queen, speaking on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, said the incident had laid buried deep in her memory but still resurfaced years later with anger and emotion.
She remembered that she had been reading quietly when a young man attacked her during the journey. According to Camilla, she fought back and resisted, later going home in such a state that her mother was shocked. The incident had occurred on a train headed towards London’s Paddington Station in the 1960s and had only ever been referred to obliquely in any of the royal biographies.
The Queen shared her experience while appearing alongside broadcaster John Hunt and his daughter Amy, whose family was affected by a high-profile domestic violence tragedy in 2024. Camilla said their courage in speaking out motivated her to finally share her own story, underlining the importance of honesty and openness around such issues.
