BBC
Queen Camilla has praised the courage of BBC racing commentator John Hunt and his family – after his wife, Carol, and two daughters, Louise and Hannah, were killed by Louise’s ex-partner.
In a conversation with John and his surviving daughter, Amy, the Queen also shared publicly for the first time, her experience of an indecent assault as a teenager.
The Queen was speaking during a discussion on violence against women on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme – guest edited by former Prime Minister, Baroness Theresa May.
The Queen told the BBC she had been “so angry” and “furious” about the attack – first reported in a book earlier this year.
She said she had “sort of forgotten” what had happened to her, but that the courage of the Hunt family had prompted her to speak about her experience.
She recalled having been on her way to meet her mother when “this boy – man – attacked me” adding “I did fight back”.
John and Amy Hunt spoke to the Queen – and the Today programme’s Emma Barnett – at Clarence House. The conversation formed part of a wider discussion about combating sexual and domestic violence – and the power of talking about experiences and trauma.
“I remember something that had been lurking in the back of my brain for a very long time,” the Queen told them. “That, when I was a teenager, I was attacked on a train… I remember at the time being so angry,” she said.
The Queen recalled getting off the train and “my mother looking at me and saying: ‘Why is your hair standing on end and why is the button missing from your coat?’ I had been attacked.”
She added: “I was so furious about it and… when the subject about domestic abuse came up, and suddenly you hear a story like John and Amy’s, it’s something that I feel very strongly about.”
The indecent assault was first reported in Power and the Palace, a book released earlier this year by former royal editor of the Times newspaper, Valentine Low.
According to the book, the Queen had been 16 or 17 years old when the incident happened on a train to Paddington Station.
It reported how the man touched the then teenage Camilla Shand and that she then hit him with the heel of her shoe. When she arrived in London, she reported the incident to station staff and the man was arrested, the book reported.
Buckingham Palace made no official statement when the story was first reported.
After hearing the Queen’s story, Amy Hunt told her: “Thank you for sharing that, Your Majesty. It takes a lot to share these things because every woman has a story.”
The interview focused on the grief and strength of the Hunt family and their determination to protect the memory of Carol, Louise and Hannah, who were all murdered by Kyle Clifford at their family home in Hertfordshire, in July 2024.
“It remains really difficult on a minute-by-minute basis,” Mr Hunt told the BBC.
“You have to try and find the strength in our position to arm yourself with as many tools as possible that are going to help you get through that next hour.
Mr Hunt, his daughter, Baroness May and Queen Camilla all agreed that education is key to ensuring the safety of women. And they all shared concern about the online radicalisation of young men.
“Unfortunately, it’s something that largely goes unchecked,” Amy Hunt said of social media, “it’s somewhat allowed to run rampant”.
When men don’t have “the best examples in life” they often look for guidance online, she added, finding “easy answers” in people like self-proclaimed misogynist influencer, Andrew Tate.
Mr Hunt said throughout his life he had been “surrounded by fantastic men, fantastic role models”.
“To have this very dark world open up to me in the starkest possible fashion has been jarring and something I’ve had to navigate very quickly – I’ve had to educate myself,” he added.
Queen Camilla spoke about her work with victims of domestic violence and said the focus had to be on ensuring young men do not become abusive partners as adults.
“They may have had parents or relatives who’ve been abusive or done terrible things to them. So they’re almost brought up to believe that it’s a natural thing to do,” she said.
“But if you can get them early enough and teach them respect for women, I think that’s so important to get into schools… and the more I look at it, it is the most important thing we can do now.”
