Pasties on parade for the Duchess

Pleased to meat you: The Duchess chats to the 7ft pastie

The Duchess of Cornwall got a taste of what a Cornish pastie sounds like when she visited the City of London.

Cornish produce came to the City in the shape of a 7ft crimped example of the traditional regional fare.

The Duchess and Prince of Wales politely shook hands and stopped for a brief chat.

Mauro Luquini, 32, whose face could be seen through a hole in the front of the outfit, said: "She was surprised to see us and stepped back a bit."

Mr Luquini, who was inside a giant model pasty from Helston's West Cornwall Pasty Company, added: "Camilla asked me if it was hot inside and how long I had been wearing the costume.

"I said since eight this morning, but I got two breaks."

Cornish roots

The Prince and the Duchess also went inside the firm's mobile serving van - a VW camper with a surfboard on top.

Both took a sip from a pint of Doom Bar from Sharp's Brewery in Rock, Cornwall.

They also tasted Cornish Yarg - a cheese from the Lynher Dairies near Ponsanooth, Truro, which has a nettle-covered rind - and Camilla ate a strawberry as they chatted to a trainee chef from Jamie Oliver's Fifteen Cornwall Restaurant.

The Cornish market was organised by the Lord Mayor of the City of London David Brewer, in honour of his Cornish roots.