"I took off my shoe and whacked him": Queen Camilla allegedly fended off teen attacker with her heel, royal book claims

Queen Camilla is at the center of a striking anecdote revealed in a new book about the British monarchy, which recounts how she allegedly fought off an attempted assault as a teenager using nothing but her shoe.

The story is revealed in Power and the Palace: The Inside Story of the Monarchy and 10 Downing Street, a forthcoming book by former royal correspondent Valentine Low.

In an excerpt obtained by The Sunday Times, it details how the Queen Consort once shared the episode privately with former UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson during a tea gathering at Clarence House in 2008, back when Johnson was serving as Mayor of London.

According to Low, Johnson attended the meeting alongside his then-communications director, Guto Harri, who later told the author that the conversation between Johnson and Camilla shifted from lighthearted admiration to a more serious note when she revealed her experience as a schoolgirl.

He recalled:

“They obviously got on like a house on fire."

He also noted that Johnson was especially engaged when Camilla disclosed that she had once been the target of an attempted s**ual assault during her teenage years.

Harri claimed Camilla recounted the moment in vivid detail. She allegedly told Johnson that the incident occurred on a train bound for Paddington when she was approximately 16 or 17 years old. Harri narrated:

“Some guy was moving his hand further and further.”

The broadcaster added that Johnson asked how she responded, and Camilla’s alleged reply was simple yet striking:

“I did what my mother taught me to. I took off my shoe and whacked him in the nuts with the heel.”

Harri further explained that Camilla was “self-possessed enough” to act quickly after defending herself. She reportedly jumped off the train at the next stop and sought help.

“She found a guy in uniform and said, ‘That man just attacked me.’ He was arrested."

The alleged disclosure had a lasting impact on Johnson, Harri claimed.

The story was cited as one of the motivations behind Johnson’s later decision to open three r**e crisis centers in London.

“Nobody asked why the interest, why the commitment. But that’s what it went back to.”

Meanwhile, Power and the Palace arrives on September 11.

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Queen Camilla’s experience was never a secret to those close to her, sources claim

While Camilla has not publicly commented on the account, insiders told the Daily Mail that she has spoken about the alleged assault in private circles.

According to the source, who is allegedly close to the Queen Consort, regards sharing her experience as worthwhile if it helps encourage or support other women.

"If reading about her own experience helps other women, then in the circumstances she would consider that a positive outcome."

Her decision not to speak about it more broadly, another insider suggested, comes not from “shame” but from the belief that “other women’s stories are much more important than her own.”

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They told the outlet:

"Her experience, alas, was as familiar to many women then as it is, sadly, today. And clearly, totally unacceptable. But she has never wanted to equate what she went through as a young woman with the stories that so many victims and survivors have had the courage to share with her over her past decade of campaigning on the issue."

According to friends, Queen Camilla has never concealed the incident from those close to her, adding that she has also spoken about it in confidence with colleagues and organizations she has collaborated with over the past decade in the areas of domestic violence and s***al harassment.