Queen Camilla has spoken publicly for the first time about the moment a man tried to grope her on a train to Paddington in London in the 1960s when she was a teenager

Queen Camilla has opened up about a disturbing incident from her teenage years in the 1960s, when she had to fend off a man who tried to grope her on a train to Paddington.

She shared this personal story for the first time during a special Radio 4 Today program. The Queen was engaged in conversation with John Hunt and his daughter, Amy, as part of a radio special that also featured former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Theresa May and Emma Barnett. Queen Camilla recounted how she was heading to meet her mother when “this boy, man, attacked me,” but she didn’t hesitate to “I did fight back.”

She continued: “I remember getting off the train and my mother looking at me and saying, ‘Why is your hair standing on end, and why is a button missing from your coat?’ I was physically attacked, but I remember anger, and I was so furious about it.”

The conversation was recorded with John Hunt, a renowned racing commentator, and his surviving daughter, Amy, whose family tragically fell victim to a crossbow and knife attack in July of the previous year, reports the Express.

Queen Camilla confessed that the memory of her own assault had been “lurking in the back of my brain for a very long time”. She further stated, “When the subject of domestic abuse came up, and suddenly you hear a story like John and Amy’s, it’s something that I feel very strongly about.”

As part of her support for the UN International 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence initiative, the Queen invited Mr. Hunt and his daughter, along with Baroness May, to Clarence House.

The discussion aired on New Year’s Eve during a special Today program episode overseen by Baroness May, who has devoted considerable effort to fighting domestic abuse.

Following the Queen’s account, Amy responded: “Thank you for sharing that, Your Majesty. It takes a lot to share these things because every woman has a story.”

Sources suggest Camilla chose to discuss her experience to illustrate how incidents of groping or s3xual assault can escalate into broader concerns.

Details of the Queen being targeted in an attempted indecent assault initially surfaced in August through Valentine Low’s book, Power and the Palace.

During a 2008 exchange with Boris Johnson, she apparently recounted: “I did what my mother taught me to. I took off my shoe and whacked him in the nuts with the heel.”

She subsequently alerted authorities at Paddington Station, leading to the suspect’s arrest, according to reports.

Throughout her Royal duties, the Queen has dedicated more than ten years to advocating against domestic and s3xual violence.