The Duchess of Cornwall should "really pull her finger out and do a bit more next year", a former royal aide warned today.

Clarence House’s annual review revealed that Camilla undertook 230 engagements in her first 12 months since becoming an HRH.

In comparison, the Princess Royal notched up 640 in 2005 and the Queen 426. The Duke of Edinburgh, now 85, did 406, the Duke of York 535 and the Countess of Wessex 205.

Dickie Arbiter, who worked as spokesman for the Queen focusing on PR for Prince Charles and Princess Diana during a 12-year career at Buckingham Palace, called on Camilla to take on more royal engagements.

The former royal aide told BBC News 24: "It’s not that many when you take it over a 12-month period and one can only hope that she’s really going to really pull her finger out and do a bit more next year.

"On the past year’s standing, she isn’t quite yet a fully paid-up member of the royal family."

Sir Michael Peat, Charles’s principal private secretary, defended the Duchess. "We go for quality as well as quantity. She’s done some fantastic engagements," he said

"We have always said most of the Duchess’s time is devoted to supporting her husband."

Sir Michael added that Camilla cost the taxpayer only £2,000.

"She lives in a house that’s already there, she travels with the Prince, and on three occasions she went on an aircraft on her own. It came to about £2,000," Sir Michael said.

Asked if she would undertake greater numbers of public appearances in future, he added: "She’ll do, as ever, what’s right. We always said that the primary focus would be supporting the Prince."

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