The Queen enthused about homegrown produce when she met RAF families who have transformed a corner of an Air Force base into a smallholding.

Camilla visited RAF Leeming where bees and chickens are kept and vegetables grown on an allotment – all a stone’s throw from where jet fighters land.

She arrived in blustery, sunny conditions which whipped up her hair as she was greeted by a guard of honour after her plane touched down at the base in North Yorkshire.

As she toured the wellness project, which the servicemen and women say provides them with a haven away from their military duties, Camilla told one family “eating fresh eggs, they always taste much better.”

Organisers of the initiative rescued a group of hens from a battery farm when it closed and have also taken on a number of rare breed chickens, with the eggs sold via an honesty box

In a poly-tunnel, families grow a wide range of produce from tomatoes and courgettes to peppers and herbs.

Camilla chatted to radar engineer Kyle Hewitt and spoke to his three children about the vegetables grown on the base: “They taste much better if you pull them up and cook them, much better than shop-bought carrots.”

The base is home to a squadron training Qatari airmen alongside UK pilots, the 90 Signals Unit, a cyber-security team, and the Counter Uncrewed Air System (C-UAS), which targets drones and has been working with the French authorities during the Olympics and Paralympics.

Camilla met representatives from 11 Squadron QEAF (Qatar Emiri Air Force), who performed a flypast, and others from the 90 Signals Unit and C-UAS.

Radar technician Liam Barsby, who helps organise the wellness project, said about its benefits: “It makes things a lot better, gives you a lot of things to do in the week and is really positive for your wellbeing.”