Queen Camilla once fended off the unwanted advances of a man on a train by striking him with her shoe, according to a new book.
In Power and the Palace, by former Times royal correspondent Valentine Low, Camilla is said to have recounted how she took off her shoe “and whacked him in the nuts with the heel.”
The story was shared with Low by Guto Harri, communications director to Boris Johnson during his time as London’s mayor.
Harri recalled a meeting at Clarence House where Johnson and Camilla, then the Duchess of Cornwall, “got on like a house on fire.”
“But the serious conversation they had was about her being the victim of an attempted sexual assault when she was a schoolgirl,” Harri told Low.
“She was on a train going to Paddington, she was about 16, 17, and some guy was moving his hand further and further …”
When Johnson asked what happened next, Harri said Camilla replied: “I did what my mother taught me to. I took off my shoe and whacked him in the nuts with the heel.”
“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,” Harri continued.
The book, set for release on September 11, 2025, was excerpted in the Sunday Times. CNN has reached out to Buckingham Palace for comment.
While the palace has not issued a statement, it has not disputed the reported details.
Camilla became Queen in 2022 when King Charles acceded to the throne following the death of Queen Elizabeth II.
She has long championed efforts to combat violence against women, supporting survivors of sexual assault and domestic abuse through initiatives such as the Wash Bag Project, which provides essential toiletries after forensic examinations.
Images: Instagram
