A new royal biography has revealed the heartbreaking story of how Queen Camilla once fought off an attacker with her shoe, after the man tried to inappropriately touch her on a train. She was a teenager at the time, on a service heading into London's Paddington station.
Sources close to the King's wife said Camilla's response to remove her shoe and defend herself from the unwanted advances stemmed from advice her mother had previously shared with her, should an unfortunate situation such as that ever arise.
The story is included in Power and the Palace by Valentine Low, previously a Royal Editor for The Times. "She did the responsible thing," Low said, during an interview on BBC Radio 4. "Not only was she resourceful and strong, she was a responsible citizen in making sure the man was arrested."
While Buckingham Palace has not commented on the story, the BBC writes that it also has not been disputed by the royal press team either.
It's reported that Camilla – who is known for her patronages of organisations that aid survivors of domestic and sexual violence – hasn't publicly shared her own experience of unwanted touching due to not wanting to detract from the voices of those she is supporting and attempting to spotlight. However, it is said that the Queen did recount the tale to former Prime Minister Boris Johnson, back in 2008 when he was Mayor of London.
Earlier this year, during an event for SafeLives (a charity working to end domestic abuse), Camilla said: "I would not be standing here if it was 10 years ago because we wouldn't have been talking about it - it was a taboo subject. Nobody actually wanted to talk about it.
"But now 10 years later we've got survivors telling their story who years ago would've been too ashamed to come forward to tell their stories, but now they'll get up and talk and inspire others to talk."
Jennifer Savin is Cosmopolitan UK's multiple award-winning Features Editor, who was crowned Digital Journalist of the Year for her work tackling the issues most important to young women. She regularly covers breaking news, cultural trends, health, the royals and more, using her esteemed connections to access the best experts along the way. She's grilled everyone from high-profile politicians to A-list celebrities, and has sensitively interviewed hundreds of people about their real life stories. In addition to this, Jennifer is widely known for her own undercover investigations and campaign work, which includes successfully petitioning the government for change around topics like abortion rights and image-based sexual abuse. Jennifer is also a published author, documentary consultant (helping to create BBC’s Deepfake Porn: Could You Be Next?) and a patron for Y.E.S. (a youth services charity). Alongside Cosmopolitan, Jennifer has written for The Times, Women’s Health, ELLE and numerous other publications, appeared on podcasts, and spoken on (and hosted) panels for the Women of the World Festival, the University of Manchester and more. In her spare time, Jennifer is a big fan of lipstick, leopard print and over-ordering at dinner. Follow Jennifer on Instagram, X or LinkedIn.
