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Queen Camilla reportedly defended herself from a sexual assault as a teenager by striking her attacker with a high heel, according to a new book about the British monarchy.
In Power and the Palace: The Inside Story of the Monarchy, former royal correspondent Valentine Low recounts the story as it was shared by Camilla during a private conversation with Boris Johnson in 2008, when he was Mayor of London.
According to Johnson’s former communications director, Guto Harri, Camilla told the then-mayor that she had been groped on a train while travelling to Paddington at the age of 16 or 17. When asked how she reacted, Camilla reportedly said, “I did what my mother taught me to. I took off my shoe and whacked him in the nuts with the heel.”
She then got off the train, reported the incident to a police officer, and the man was arrested.
Low claims the story left a strong impression on Johnson and was part of what motivated him to open three rape crisis centres across London during his mayoral term.
The book, which offers insights into the personal lives and influence of senior royals, sheds light on Camilla’s resilience long before she became Queen Consort.
