Charles and Camilla ‘still have a snap in their celery’ and can still ‘open doors’ for diplomats around the world.

The Duchess of Cornwall gave a rare insight into the couple’s work on a flight home from the Middle East.

They spent four days on an official tour of Jordan and Egypt, which Camilla insisted was not a ‘holiday’.

She said: ‘I’ve been on so many trips and I can understand why people can be cynical about this “why they’re doing this, what they’re getting out of this?”

‘But I’ve heard so many diplomats over the years say, “we’ve been trying to open this door for weeks, months, years, then suddenly a member of the royal family comes along and, bang, this works for us – doors are open and things get done”.’

Since marrying Charles in 2005, the duchess has travelled the world visiting everywhere from Colombia and the Galapagos Islands to Jamaica, Mexico and New Zealand in support of the UK.

On Thursday, they toured the pyramids at Giza, on the outskirts of Cairo, and also posed for pictures in front of the Sphinx.

The duchess added: ‘We are not on holiday, we might be dressed up and photographed against the pyramids like tourists but we are not on holiday. 

‘We are working for the government and country and we are trying to make difference.’

They royal tours usually feature packed schedules and cover 1000s of miles, a regime Camilla described as ‘quite tough’ on the most recent visit.

Speaking on Voyager, the ministerial jet, before it landed on Friday, the duchess said about the Middle East tour: ‘It was quite tough, we were driving a lot and it was pretty bumpy.’

The highlight of her time in the Middle East was the royal couple’s visit to the site near the River Jordan where John the Baptist was said to have baptised Jesus, describing it as a ‘spiritual’ moment.

Camilla said their visit to the baptism site of Christ in Jordan was the highlight of the trip for her: ‘It was extraordinary, something you read about. To actually go down there and experience it – it was really quite spiritual.’

Commenting on her previous visit to Egypt with Charles, soon after they married, she added: ‘But afterwards I think, OK, 16 years ago, I’m a lot older now, well into my 70s but to quote Richard Ingram, “we’ve still got a snap in our celery”.’

Charles and Camilla are part of a group of senior royals dubbed the ‘magnificent seven’ by Buckingham Palace courtiers.

The plan is for them to fill in for the Queen, who is recovering from a sprained back and spent a night in hospital for tests on an unspecified medical complaint. 

On royal source told the Mirror the Queen ‘remains as sharp as a pin’ but that ‘the senior members of the family are all aligned in that they will be available to help out wherever they can and for as long as is needed’.

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