Queen Camilla has made her first public appearance since a new royal book claimed she was the victim of an attempted indecent assault as a teenager. Camilla, 78, undertook three engagements in Cornwall on Tuesday, starting the busy away day by touring the headquarters of the international disaster relief charity ShelterBox and learning about the latest equipment used by the organisation.
Her Majesty has been involved with the charity for almost 20 years, having become its President in 2007 and Patron in 2021. Since it was founded in 2000, more than three million people displaced by conflict, natural disasters or the climate crisis have been helped in around 100 countries by the charity based in Truro, Cornwall.
The Queen then visited local projects supported by the Cornwall Community Foundation and opened the new operations unit of Cornwall Air Ambulance Trust’s Headquarters.
Her busy day of duties came less than 48 hours after the revelation that she fought off a man who groped her on a train as a 16 or 17-year-old schoolgirl.
The royal is said to have responded by doing “what my mother taught me” – taking off her high heel and hitting the attacker with it.
The incident is recounted in the book Power And The Palace: The Inside Story Of The Monarchy And 10 Downing Street by former royal reporter Valentine Low.
An excerpt, published in Monday’s edition of The Times, claims that the then Duchess of Cornwall told former Boris Johnson her ordeal in 2008, when he was invited to meet her at Clarence House as the newly elected mayor of London.
While Camilla is understood to have told friends and family about the attack, she has chosen to keep the incident private, preferring to focus on survivors of domestic violence and sexual assaults.
The Queen has visited rape centres in the UK and abroad, hosted receptions for sexual assault and domestic abuse survivors, and spoken out on the issue, but her experience as a teenager has not been the main driving force of her work, rather the stories of the women who have endured attacks.
A source close to the Queen has said: “If some good comes of this publication, which is that the wider issues are discussed, it de-stigmatises the whole topic and empowers girls today to take action and seek help and to talk about it, then that’s a good outcome.”
On Tuesday, the Queen gave an impromptu speech while unveiling a plaque in celebration of ShelterBox’s 25th year.
She made the gathered staff, volunteers and supporters laugh when she discussed the moment she came across the organisation during an official visit to Pakistan in 2006.
“I can’t believe it’s 18 years since seeing the two good-looking Cornishmen come up in Pakistan after the earthquake there,” she said.
“I couldn’t believe my eyes I thought ‘what on earth are they doing’ with a mule and a box on top? So I went back and found out a little bit more about this wonderful charity and, after that, the rest is history as they say.”