Queen was 'so angry' and 'fought back' after being assaulted on train as teenager

The Queen has spoken publicly for the first time about being assaulted on a train as a teenager, in an incident that left her "so angry".

In an interview with BBC Radio 4's Today programme, she described how she "fought back" and that the experience had "lurked for many years". She said: "Somebody I didn't know - I was reading my book and this boy, man, attacked me, and I did fight back.

"And 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?' "But I remember anger, and I was so furious about it, and it's sort of lurked for many years. "And I think, you know, when all 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 Queen also used the interview to praise BBC racing commentator John Hunt and his daughter Amy, whose family were murdered at their home last year - and said they would be "so proud of you both".

Louise Hunt, 25, her sister Hannah, 28, and their mother Carol, 61, were killed by Louise's ex-partner Kyle Clifford, 27, in a quiet cul-de-sac in Bushey, Hertfordshire, on 9 July 2024. Clifford, Louise's ex-partner, was handed three whole life orders earlier this year.

After hearing the Queen share her story, Amy said: "Thank you for sharing that story first, Your Majesty, because that takes a lot to share these things because every woman has a story." A fundraising gala was held this month to launch The Hunt Family Fund. Mr Hunt and Amy set it up in memory of their loved ones to raise money for charities and causes that help and inspire young women.

In the recording, the Queen said: "I'd just like to say, wherever your family is now, they'd be so proud of you both. "And they must be from above smiling down on you and thinking, my goodness me, what a wonderful, wonderful father, husband, sister.

"They'd just be so proud of you both." The discussion, which was recorded in the Garden Room at Clarence House last month, also included former prime minister Baroness Theresa May and was chaired by BBC broadcaster Emma Barnett. Mr Hunt said a year on after his family was killed it "remains really difficult on a minute-by-minute basis.