Duchess Camilla reveals royal tours are 'tough' and not a 'holiday'

The Duchess of Cornwall, Camilla, has revealed that her recent royal tour, with Prince Charles, to Jordan and Egypt was tough, and they weren't there as 'tourists'. 

• The Duke and Duchess of Cornwall visited Jordan and Egypt for a royal tour this week
• This is the first overseas trip for the royal couple since the pandemic began last year
• In more royal news, Kate Middleton pairs her designer dress with an affordable pair of High street hoop earrings

As Camilla and Prince Charles returned home from their Middle East royal tour the Duchess revealed that their trips 'aren't a holiday' and can be quite 'tough'—despite all their smiling photos.

Speaking to Sky News, while on the ministerial jet Voyager, she said about the tour, "It was quite tough, we were driving a lot and it was pretty bumpy."

She went on to add, "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 a difference."

Their four-day royal tour took them to The Sphinx and Giza Pyramids in Egypt and the Al-Azhar Mosque in Cairo. The royal couple also met His Majesty King Abdullah II and Her Majesty Queen Rania while they visited the Al Husseinieh Palace.

After being greeted by the King and Queen of Jordan, the royal couple went on a variety of visits to significant areas of Jordan to see the work that has been done to help the local community prosper. They also went on to visit the Queen Rania Family and Child Center, which is run by the Jordan River Foundation. The foundation offers support for vulnerable children from Jordanian, Palestinian and Syrian backgrounds.

However, despite saying how tough the tour was, Camilla also reflected on how, 16 years ago, they did a similar tour of Egypt, "I'm a lot older now, well into my 70s but to quote Richard Ingram, 'we've still got a snap in our celery'."

The tour saw the couple arrive in Amman on Tuesday and then later travel to Egypt.  The key theme of the trip was to promote tolerance between different religions as the couple visited various holy sites and events promoting interfaith celebrations. 

With the Queen resting, many of the royal family have taken on extra duties, in her place. Early this week it was revealed that Camilla will take on the Queen's duty with the Women's Institute as she opened up in an interview for their magazine.

Each year, the Queen makes an annual visit to the WI at West Newton near her Sandringham estate in Norfolk. However, in light of claims that the Queen, 'will not undertake events,' such as large-scale honors again, it's believed that her daughter-in-law will take on this mantel.