Queen Camilla says she fought off attacker with shoe as a teen

Queen Camilla told then–London mayor Boris Johnson that she was the target of an attempted sexual assault as a teenager and fought off her attacker by hitting him with her shoe, according to a new book by former royal correspondent Valentine Low. The episode is said to have taken place in the 1960s while she was travelling alone to Paddington, and was recounted to Mr Johnson during a meeting at Clarence House in about 2008, the book says.

Low’s account, serialised this weekend, quotes Mr Johnson’s former communications director Guto Harri recalling that the then Duchess of Cornwall described a man moving his hand closer and that she responded by removing her heel and striking him. The recollection includes that she then jumped off the train at Paddington, found a uniformed officer and reported the incident, and that the man was arrested. The book attributes the details to conversations around the 2008 meeting; terminology describing the strike varies across accounts. A spokesman for the palace declined to comment when approached, while a source close to the Queen said she has never sought publicity for the episode and would view publication positively if it helped other women.