King Charles is said to be feeling "very good" amid his cancer fight

She told GB News: "I think people won't be surprised to know that he's completely charming and always calm.

"And he's also got a really good sense of humour as well. But he's always asking about how things are going, particularly issues that we're dealing with in Parliament or about particular groups who he knows that are having a rough time.

"He's always asking after those people, so he cares a great deal and he's a delight to work with.

"He's very good. And I know that he would have been so pleased to get back to public duties. He would have missed it tremendously.

"I think everyone is really pleased to see him back and I know that he wants to do more, so it's been a good week."

Penny was responsible for bearing the Sword of State and presenting the Jewelled Sword of Offering to Charles at his coronation last May, when he was crowned alongside his 76-year-old wife Queen Camilla.

She spoke about his health as the monarch celebrated the first anniversary of his coronation with a social media video.

A post from the royal family on its Instagram showed a montage of Charles' coronation, with the footage opening with film of the king greeting well-wishers on The Mall outside Buckingham Palace on the eve of the coronation.

The family captioned the 90-second clip: "Today marks the first anniversary of The King and Queen's Coronation in @wabbey.

"As well as the service itself, the Coronation Weekend saw a carriage procession through central London, a fly-past, a Royal Salute by 4,000 troops in the gardens of Buckingham Palace, a Coronation Concert at Windsor Castle and a UK-wide volunteering initiative."

Appealing for royal fans to share their memories of the big day, the post was signed off with the question: "What's your favourite memory of the weekend?"