Duchess of Cornwall reveals hidden skill in the kitchen as she gets stuck in with a lunch club

The Duchess of Corrnwall has revealed a secret skill as she helped serve up lunch for pensioners at a club in Hertfordshire.

Camilla, 73, has previously talked down her cooking talents, but appeared to be pretty comfortable when it came to desserts.

As she got stuck in in the kitchen alongside volunteers from the Royal Voluntary Service, she proved a dab hand at piping cream on top of the individual trifles.

She was at the club in Rickmansworth at the invitation of her pen pal Doris Winfield, who she has been writing to throughout the pandemic.

The duchess and Winfield met in person for the first time, having struck up a friendship when the royal helped with the ‘check in and chat’ programme started by the RVS.

She told her friend: “You said to me to pop in if I was ever passing, so I have!”

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Winfield, a mother-of-three said: “She’s just a lovely, lovely lady. She has taken time out to speak and write to me without anyone knowing about it.

“Lockdown was a very lonely time for people like me, I really missed coming here. I used to come every day and now I only come two [days a week].

“Her letters cheered me up no end.”

Camilla was also pictured helping to cut up lunch for one woman, who is blind. According to the Daily Mail, Camilla popped the dinner down in front of Kay Francis, who then asked: “Aren’t you going to cut it up?”

The duchess turned back and said: “Of course I will. More than happy to help.”

Francis, 96, was oblivious to the royal hands helping her with her lunch, and said: “Sorry, I can’t see.”

“Not to worry, I don’t think I can see either,” Camilla replied.

Back in the kitchen, Camilla expertly piped trifles before topping them with raspberries and dishing them up, joking: “I feel like one of those contestants on MasterChef!”

Camilla is the president of the Royal Voluntary Service, and told the volunteers she was “proud” to be part of the RVS after helping out with the lunch club.

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The club had to close during the lockdown but has managed to reopen to give isolated elderly people a much needed social lifeline.

Elaine Hewitt, one of the volunteers tweeted: “I’m a volunteer at that lunch club and was there today. HRH was great with all the diners and volunteers, she really got stuck in! We had to close down during lockdown and some of our elderly diners were isolated and lonely. The Duchess’ visit gave everybody a real lift.”

Camilla’s son Tom Parker-Bowles, has forged a career in the culinary world, but revealed during an interview on Radio 5Live that he and he mother argue about food.

Talking about cooking in his mother’s kitchen he said: “We argue in the kitchen, she would say I was doing something wrong, I would moan her knives are blunt or [there’s] not enough light, so it’s best if we keep separate.”

Camilla said: “Tom is a very good cook, and he is dead right, he loves everything very, very hot, he adores chillies, I’m afraid to say I don’t.

“He complains about my kitchen, he says I’ve haven’t got the modern stuff, everything’s wrong, my knives are blunt.”

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Camilla wore a Fiona Clare dress and a Burberry trench coat for the visit, and kept a blue face covering on when she was inside.

She also added a plastic face visor when she was serving food.

Camilla’s husband, Prince Charles, tested positive for COVID-19 back in March, but Camilla’s test came back negative.

Watch: Camilla meets patients and staff on St Bart’s visit