A British Airways plane flying from Bangalore to Heathrow, apparently with Camilla, the Queen Consort on board, landed with a dented and blood-splattered nose cone after suffering a bird strike.

Camilla, accompanied by friends and royal security officers, was taking a break at the Soukya health farm in Bangalore, where she has been a frequent visitor over the years.

It is said that while Charles was busy with matters of state after the death of his mother and appointing Rishi Sunak as the new Prime Minister, his wife needed to get away to a much-loved corner of India for 10 days of rest.

The headline in the Daily Mail was perhaps a little over-dramatic: “Camilla in mid-air smash horror: Queen Consort’s plane manages to land at Heathrow despite suffering massive nose damage when bird smashed into it ‘as she flew home to the UK from Indian health retreat’.”

It pointed out probably more accurately: “Camilla is known to be afraid of flying and once sat terrified on the steps of a jet.”

British Airways claimed the passengers were not in any danger.

The airline’s spokesman said: “The aircraft landed safely and customers disembarked as normal.”

According to the Civil Aviation Authority between 2012 and 2016 there were 8,011 confirmed birdstrikes in UK airspace.

Buckingham Palace would not comment on a “private visit” but according to RadarOnline.com, which tracks flights, especially if VIPs are known to be on board, “Queen Camilla’s plane could be seen with a large dent in the nose after striking a bird today on their return to the United Kingdom from India, RadarOnline.com has learned.”

It confirmed: “The damage on the British Airways Boeing 777-200ER aircraft was clearly visible in photos shared on Twitter following the incident on Friday.”