| Re: Camilla fought off attacker with shoe as teenager, book says - Paddington train Posted by Chris from Nailsea at 14:58, 31st December 2025 |     |
An update, from the BBC:
Queen praises Hunt family for their bravery after triple murders
Queen Camilla has praised the courage of BBC racing commentator John Hunt and his family - after his wife, Carol, and two daughters, Louise and Hannah, were killed by Louise's ex-partner.
In a conversation with John and his surviving daughter, Amy, the Queen also shared publicly for the first time, her experience of an indecent assault as a teenager.
The Queen was speaking during a discussion on violence against women on BBC Radio 4's Today programme - guest edited by former Prime Minister, Baroness Theresa May.
The Queen told the BBC she had been "so angry" and "furious" about the attack - first reported in a book earlier this year.
She said she had "sort of forgotten" what had happened to her, but that the courage of the Hunt family had prompted her to speak about her experience.
She recalled having been on her way to meet her mother when "this boy - man - attacked me" adding "I did fight back".
...
"I remember something that had been lurking in the back of my brain for a very long time," the Queen told them. "That, when I was a teenager, I was attacked on a train… I remember at the time being so angry," she said.
The Queen recalled getting off the train and "my mother looking at me and saying: 'Why is your hair standing on end and why is the button missing from your coat?' I had been attacked." She added: "I was so furious about it and… when the subject about domestic abuse came up, and suddenly you hear a story like John and Amy's, it's something that I feel very strongly about."
The indecent assault was first reported in Power and the Palace, a book released earlier this year by former royal editor of the Times newspaper, Valentine Low.
According to the book, the Queen had been 16 or 17 years old when the incident happened on a train to Paddington Station. It reported how the man touched the then teenage Camilla Shand and that she then hit him with the heel of her shoe. When she arrived in London, she reported the incident to station staff and the man was arrested, the book reported.
Buckingham Palace made no official statement when the story was first reported.
After hearing the Queen's story, Amy Hunt told her: "Thank you for sharing that, Your Majesty. It takes a lot to share these things because every woman has a story."
(BBC article continues)
Queen Camilla has praised the courage of BBC racing commentator John Hunt and his family - after his wife, Carol, and two daughters, Louise and Hannah, were killed by Louise's ex-partner.
In a conversation with John and his surviving daughter, Amy, the Queen also shared publicly for the first time, her experience of an indecent assault as a teenager.
The Queen was speaking during a discussion on violence against women on BBC Radio 4's Today programme - guest edited by former Prime Minister, Baroness Theresa May.
The Queen told the BBC she had been "so angry" and "furious" about the attack - first reported in a book earlier this year.
She said she had "sort of forgotten" what had happened to her, but that the courage of the Hunt family had prompted her to speak about her experience.
She recalled having been on her way to meet her mother when "this boy - man - attacked me" adding "I did fight back".
...
"I remember something that had been lurking in the back of my brain for a very long time," the Queen told them. "That, when I was a teenager, I was attacked on a train… I remember at the time being so angry," she said.
The Queen recalled getting off the train and "my mother looking at me and saying: 'Why is your hair standing on end and why is the button missing from your coat?' I had been attacked." She added: "I was so furious about it and… when the subject about domestic abuse came up, and suddenly you hear a story like John and Amy's, it's something that I feel very strongly about."
The indecent assault was first reported in Power and the Palace, a book released earlier this year by former royal editor of the Times newspaper, Valentine Low.
According to the book, the Queen had been 16 or 17 years old when the incident happened on a train to Paddington Station. It reported how the man touched the then teenage Camilla Shand and that she then hit him with the heel of her shoe. When she arrived in London, she reported the incident to station staff and the man was arrested, the book reported.
Buckingham Palace made no official statement when the story was first reported.
After hearing the Queen's story, Amy Hunt told her: "Thank you for sharing that, Your Majesty. It takes a lot to share these things because every woman has a story."
(BBC article continues)
| Re: Camilla fought off attacker with shoe as teenager, book says - Paddington train Posted by Marlburian at 10:15, 2nd September 2025 | |
Many years ago, I boarded a crowded 125 train at Paddington (a strike had been called at very short notice and everyone was rushing to get home) and was using my raised hand to support myself against the frame of the doorway into the next carriage. More people pushed onto the train and, to my horror, a young lady's breast pressed against the back of my hand. I didn't dare move my hand, lest that be misconstrued.
And on crowded Tube trains I was very careful about how I held my briefcase.
In my latter days of commuting, in the early 1990s, a harassed-looking middle-aged man scampered down the aisle pursued by an irate young lady, who returned a couple of minutes later looking satisfied, only for her to u-turn and exclaim "I haven't finished with him yet".
| Re: Camilla fought off attacker with shoe as teenager, book says - Paddington train Posted by grahame at 17:31, 1st September 2025 | |
Sadly, not unusual story, though the assailant been hit with a shoe is not something I have come across before. Male members on the Coffee Shop might be surprised is they chatted with the ladies close enough to them to open up just how common experiences of being assaulted when travelling are (and in that I include "in a car"). Very few are actually reported, and I am not about to betray confidences here.
| Camilla fought off attacker with shoe as teenager, book says - Paddington train Posted by Chris from Nailsea at 17:08, 1st September 2025 | |
From the BBC:
Queen Camilla was the victim of an attempted indecent assault as a teenager, according to a new book about the Royal Family. The Queen is said to have fought off her attacker using the heel of her shoe.
The attempted assault is recounted in Power and the Palace by the former Royal editor of the Times newspaper, Valentine Low.
He says the Queen told Boris Johnson the story of her experience in 2008 when he was mayor of London.
It is reported that the Queen was 16 or 17 years old when the incident happened on a train to Paddington Station.
The man is said to have been touching the teenage Camilla Shand when she took off her shoe and hit him with it.
It was, she told Johnson, something her mother had told her to do if she ever found herself in that situation.
When she arrived in London, she reported the incident to station staff and the man was arrested.
Buckingham Palace has made no official statement on the story but is not disputing the details of the account.
(BBC News article continues)
The attempted assault is recounted in Power and the Palace by the former Royal editor of the Times newspaper, Valentine Low.
He says the Queen told Boris Johnson the story of her experience in 2008 when he was mayor of London.
It is reported that the Queen was 16 or 17 years old when the incident happened on a train to Paddington Station.
The man is said to have been touching the teenage Camilla Shand when she took off her shoe and hit him with it.
It was, she told Johnson, something her mother had told her to do if she ever found herself in that situation.
When she arrived in London, she reported the incident to station staff and the man was arrested.
Buckingham Palace has made no official statement on the story but is not disputing the details of the account.
(BBC News article continues)
