During an official visit to Dubai, Abu Dhabi and al-Ain, together with Prince Charles last week, Camilla was escorted by a security detail made up of five local women, according to Clarence House.

When visiting dignitaries are not in town, Shaima al-Kaabi, Basima al-Kaabi, Hanan al-Hatawi, Nisreen al-Hamawi and Salama al-Remeithi make up part of the United Arab Emirates' Presidential Guard, which has more than 50 women in its ranks.

This year Shaima al-Kaabi,  Hatawi and  Hamawi all scaled Mount Everest.

"It is quite extraordinary to have them," the Duchess told reporters on the tour that aimed to promote religious tolerance and women in leadership.

"I have never had [five] women looking after me [and] they are the most incredible women. The first one had climbed Everest. I said, 'How long did it take?' and she said 16 days. It's quite remarkable."

Members of the Presidential Guard – an unconventional armed forces regime that was established in 2010 – are trained in martial arts and combat techniques. Women members carry weapons, hidden under their black abayas.

While in Dubai, the Duchess visited the first not-for-profit shelter in the Gulf for victims of domestic violence, child abuse and human trafficking, the Dubai Foundation for Women and Children.

Together with Princess Haya bint al-Hussein, the late King Hussein of Jordan's daughter who is married to the prime minister of the UAE and ruler of Dubai, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum, she signed a partnership between the Alder Hey Children's Hospital in Liverpool and al-Jalila Children's Hospital to collaborate and improve paediatric healthcare services across the region.