A posse of gun-toting female bodyguards have been assigned to protect the heir to the throne's wife.
This exclusive picture shows a member of the British royal family being guarded for the first time by a group of all-women bodyguards.
"The Duchess of Cornwall, who is on an official visit to the UAE on behalf of the British Government with her husband, is said to be delighted by the decision to assign her a female team while she is travelling in the Gulf," a spokesperson said.
The photograph was taken as the 69 year old royal and her entourage left the luxury Emirates Palace Hotel in Abu Dhabi yesterday morning for a busy day of public engagements.
Despite their picture-perfect make-up and fashionable 'flatform' shoes, the ladies' flowing black hijabs and abayas concealed unidentified weapons ready to use at close proximity in case of an attack.
Aged between 29 and 30, each member of the eight-strong team is trained in martial arts and close quarters fighting techniques as well as defensive and evasive manoeuvres, a source close to them revealed.
The women were handpicked from the UAE's elite private presidential guard, which boasts more than 50 female members in all.
Back in the UK senior female royals including the Duchess of Cornwall and the Duchess of Cambridge do have a small number of female bodyguards, but their Scotland Yard close protection teams are very male dominated.
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