Shock in the United Kingdom after the unexpected revelation about Queen Camilla's past

The United Kingdom has been left stunned this week after an unexpected revelation about Queen Camilla. The information was published in advance by The Times as part of a book that promises to shake the foundations of the British monarchy.

The revelation comes in a context marked by years of Camilla's social commitment against domestic violence and abuse. What happened in her youth that gives her fight such a personal and deep meaning today?

A revelation about Queen Camilla shocks the United Kingdom

Queen Camilla has become one of the most active figures in defending the rights of victims of domestic violence. Her involvement is not recent: as early as 2013, she promoted the project The Wash Bags. Since then, she has given a voice to those who suffer abuse in silence.

In 2024, she was featured in a BBC documentary titled Her Majesty the Queen: Behind Closed Doors. In it, she described violence against women as a "global pandemic." She also acknowledged: "Imagine how terrifying it is for a woman to be trapped with a very violent partner, feeling that fear every day."

However, what no one knew until now was that her public commitment hid a painful personal episode. An episode that, according to a new book by former royal correspondent Valentine Low, may have marked her life since adolescence.

In Power and the Palace: The inside story of the Monarchy and Number 10 Downing Street, it is revealed that Camilla suffered an attempted assault when she was a teenager. According to the book, the incident occurred on a train bound for Paddington station when she was 16 or 17 years old.

The story came to light through a memory shared by Guto Harri, Boris Johnson's communications director. "I was on a train on the way to Paddington, I was about 16 or 17 years old, and a man kept moving his hand further and further...," Camilla recounted.

When Johnson asked, Camilla replied firmly: "I did what my mother taught me, I took off my shoe and hit him in the testicles with the heel." The young Camilla managed to escape from that train with enough composure to approach a guard and report what had happened. "She had enough self-control when they arrived at Paddington to jump off the train, find a man in uniform and say, 'That man just attacked me,' and he was arrested," Harri recalled.

The silence of Buckingham Palace and the media echo in the United Kingdom

The publication by The Times has unleashed a wave of reactions in the United Kingdom. The silence from Buckingham has been interpreted as a protective strategy, but also as a gesture of respect for the Queen's privacy.

The fact that the anecdote became known in the context of a political conversation adds even more weight to the story. Camilla, then Duchess of Cornwall, drew on a personal experience to authoritatively support the need for new support centers for victims of abuse in London.

British media such as The Guardian and Daily Mail have also published excerpts from the book in recent hours. They have highlighted both the rawness of the account and the courage of Camilla's response in her adolescence.

Camilla's commitment in the fight against domestic violence

This revelation is directly connected to her extensive career as a defender of women's rights. In 2022, during a reception at Clarence House to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the organization Refuge, she delivered a memorable speech. "Fifty years ago, there was no support available: no helplines, no counseling, nowhere to go, no specialized laws, and perhaps most painfully, little public understanding of the problem," she remarked.

That same year, she mentioned it during a reception at Buckingham Palace as part of the UN's 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence campaign. There, she described coercive control as "the most terrifying form of domestic violence." These words now take on a more personal dimension in light of what has been revealed.

Camilla has also been a patron of the Mirabel Center in Lagos, Nigeria. She has also visited countries such as India and the United States to learn firsthand about the work of support centers for victims. Her international agenda reflects a constant commitment that, as we now know, is rooted in her own biography.

The unexpected revelation about Queen Camilla has shaken the United Kingdom and reopened the debate about the silence surrounding abuse. Her years of social commitment now take on new meaning with the disclosure of this intimate episode. It remains to be seen whether this confession will influence the future perception of her reign and the fight against domestic violence.