Queen Camilla sexual assault: New book claims royal was an alleged victim on a train

A new book that explores the dynamic between the British royal family and UK politicians has detailed a deeply personal alleged conversation where Queen Camilla revealed she was sexually assaulted as a teen.

The book, Power and the Palace: The Inside Story of the Monarchy and 10 Downing Street written by Valentine Low, promises to “lift the lid on the mysterious power dynamic at the heart of the British state: the secretive and little understood relationship between the monarchy and the Government”.

In an excerpt published in The Times on Sunday, a conversation between Camilla and Boris Johnson is detailed, where the then Duchess of Cornwall allegedly spoke candidly to the then-Mayor of London about a deeply personal incident from her childhood on a train.

Low’s new book says the content comes from “nearly 100 interviews with senior politicians, top civil servants, royal aides and constitutional experts”.

One person Low spoke to was Guto Harri, Mr Johnson’s communications director at the time.

Low writes about a royal meeting that Mr Harri spoke about, where Mr Johnson had cycled to meet Camilla at Clarence House in 2008, in what would be their first one-to-one meeting.

The then-Duchess, Low writes, was shocked to see Mr Johnson on a bike, saying she had not believed royal aids when they had told her about his mode of transport for the meeting.

After he arrived at the bike sheds at the back of Clarence House and got off his bike, Camilla grabbed Mr Johnson by the wrist, taking him upstairs for a private meeting, the book says.

Mr Harri told Power and the Palace that the pair met for nearly an hour. After which Mr Johnson reemerged “raving” about Camilla.

“They obviously got on like a house on fire. He was making guttural noises about how much he admired and liked her,” Low writes.

However, the excerpt details a “serious” conversation Camilla had with Mr Johnson when they struck up their friendship.

“The serious conversation they had was about her being the victim of an attempted sexual assault when she was a schoolgirl,” Low writes.

“She was on a train going to Paddington — she was about 16, 17 — and some guy was moving his hand further and further.

“At that point Johnson had asked what happened next.

“She (Camilla) replied: ‘I did what my mother taught me to. I took off my shoe and whacked him in the nuts with the heel’.”

Low writes that Mr Harri said: “She (Camilla) 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’.”

The book goes on to reveal that the conversation had come up as Mr Johnson had wanted to increase support in London for sexual assault victims.

“The relevance of this conversation was that Johnson at the time wanted to open three rape crisis centres,” the book says.

“There was already one in south London, and he wanted to open ones in east, west and north London.”

“Harri said: ‘I think she formally opened two out of three of them. Nobody asked why the interest, why the commitment. But that’s what it went back to.’“

The incident has never been spoken about publicly by the Queen.

Camilla has long been a vocal supporter of survivors of sexual assault and domestic violence through her charitable and royal work.

Earlier this year, an aide revealed Queen Camilla had written a letter of support to Gisèle Pelicot, who had been drugged and raped by her husband multiple times over nine years.

At a trial, it was revealed that her husband had also invited other men to rape his wife while she was unconscious.

The trial found 51 men guilty of sexual assault.

“As a long-term supporter of survivors of domestic and sexual abuse, the Queen wrote to Madame Pelicot privately,” a royal aide told Newsweek.

“It was very much her instigation and determination to write to express support from the highest level.”

Buckingham Palace is yet to comment on the alleged conversation or incident.

Power and the Palace: The Inside Story of the Monarchy and 10 Downing Street written by Valentine Low will be released on September 11.

If you or someone you know needs help, contact 1800 RESPECT (1800 737 732), or Sexual Assault Counselling Australia on 1800 211 028.