Queen Camilla Once Used Her Shoe to Fight Off Attacker on a Train as a Teen: New Book
Trigger Warning: This article contains themes of domestic and sexual abuse that some readers may find distressing.
Queen Camilla has long used her voice to speak out against domestic violence and sexual abuse, highlighting the importance of a violence-free life for women and children. As Queen Consort, she is patron of several charities dedicated to supporting and rehabilitating victims of abuse. A new book by royal author Valentine Low sheds light on the roots of her advocacy, claiming it is deeply personal. Low alleges that, as a teenager, Camilla once fought off a harasser with her shoe on a train and later recounted the painful experience to Prime Minister Boris Johnson.
As reported by PEOPLE, Guto Harri, the communications director who worked with Johnson, claimed that Camilla invited the then-London mayor to Clarence House for their first meeting. Harri revealed that she recalled a deeply personal story, related to Johnson's plan to open three rape crisis centers in London. Low penned, "[The] serious conversation they had was about her being the victim of an attempted sexual assault when she was a schoolgirl. She was on a train going to Paddington — she was about 16, 17 — and some guy was moving his hand further and further… At that point, Johnson had asked what happened next." He added, "She replied: 'I did what my mother taught me to. I took off my shoe and whacked him in the nuts with the heel.'"
As per Low's book, Hari continued, "She was self-possessed enough when they arrived at Paddington to jump off the train, find a guy in uniform and say, 'That man just attacked me,' and he was arrested." Low explained the importance of the conversation, writing, "The relevance of this conversation was that Johnson at the time wanted to open three rape crisis [centers]... Harri said, 'I think she formally opened two out of three of them. Nobody asked why the interest, why the commitment. But that’s what it went back to.'"
Last year, the Queen Consort also hosted a reception at Buckingham Palace to mark the relaunch of the Wash Bags project, which provides toiletries to those affected by rape and abuse. She said during the event, "Each one of you has a powerful story to tell: whether you work in this country or overseas; whether you are based in a refuge, a Sexual Assault Referral Centre, a charity, Parliament, or, most important of all, you are a survivor." She has also expressed her support for Gisèle Pelicot, a French woman who accused her husband, Dominique Pelicot, of repeatedly drugging her for indecent relations.
According to the BBC, Camilla is also the patron of SafeLives, a UK charity dedicated to ending domestic abuse, and has visited women’s refuges and rape crisis centres in the UK and abroad. Sources close to the Queen say she had not previously shared her own experience of misconduct, to keep the focus on the victims she supports. Additionally, she is a patron of The Mirabel Centre, The Elm Foundation, and the Wiltshire Bobby Van Trust, all of which provide support and psychological assistance to survivors of domestic and sexual abuse.
If you are being subjected to sexual assault, or know of anyone who is, please call the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 800.656.HOPE (4673)
If you are being subjected to domestic abuse or know of anyone else who is, please visit The National Domestic Violence Hotline website, call 1-800-799-7233, or text LOVEIS to 22522.