King Charles and Queen Camilla shook hands with them outside the Monart Spa as the royal couple greeted many of the hundreds of well-wishers who had gathered to see them.

During the encounter the King smiled and joked with the pampered trio outside the spa in Queen Mother Square.

Speaking afterwards, Faye Harris, 34, a marketing director from Northamptonshire, said it was "fantastic” to meet the couple.

She said: "We were aware The King and Queen were coming this morning when we first turned up and did not expect to see them.

"The manager came up and said they were likely to be here around midday and would we like to pop our heads out of the window, not shake his hand in our bathrobes."

Ms Harris was enjoying the spa day as part of a week-long visit to her parents who live in Dorset.

The King and Queen were visiting Poundbury, built on Duchy of Cornwall land, to mark the completion of Queen Mother Square, the centre of the village.

It was the royal couple's first visit to Poundbury, near Dorchester in Dorset, since the coronation.

Poundbury is an urban extension to the town of Dorchester and around 2,300 homes have been built so far, of which 35% are affordable housing.

Meanwhile, Prince William was seen meeting community workers in Belfast on the second day of his tour of the UK with his new Homewards project to target homelessness.

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The Prince of Wales was seen greeting members of the public after his visit to the East Belfast Mission.