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Queen Camilla Reveals Teen Train Assault in BBC New Year Broadcast

She framed the disclosure as using her platform to confront violence against women.

Overview

  • Speaking on BBC Radio 4's Today programme, the queen gave her first public account of an attempted sexual assault she experienced as a teenager.
  • She recalled reading on a train in the 1960s when a man attacked her, said she fought back by striking him with her shoe, and remembered getting off with dishevelled hair and a missing button noticed by her mother.
  • Camilla said hearing many survivors' stories brought the memory back and that she chose to speak out to challenge longstanding taboos around domestic and sexual violence.
  • The segment was recorded in recent weeks for the New Year special and included a discussion with broadcaster John Hunt and his daughter Amy, who campaign on domestic abuse after family members were killed in 2024.
  • Coverage notes her sustained focus on the issue in recent years, including early duties as queen consort and meetings with groups working against sexual violence and trafficking during her Vatican visit in October 2025.