King Charles and Queen Camilla have enjoyed a secret spa break after their demanding trip to Australia and Samoa.

The couple broke up the arduous journey back from the South Pacific island of Samoa by heading to India, where they enjoyed several days at the Soukya resort known for its wellness programmes and Ayurvedic treatments.

A raft of celebrities are known to have stayed at the £3,000-a-week resort near Bangalore including Oscar winner Emma Thompson and Archbishop Desmond Tutu. The spa location is understood to be well-known to Charles and Camilla with them both having visited several times before. In fact, Camilla is also understood spent a few days at the resort earlier this month too, prior to heading to Australia for the start of the tour.

Guests at the resort start their days with morning yoga, which is followed by rejuvenation treatments and a vegetarian lunch. They also get to enjoy further therapies in the afternoon followed by meditation and dinner with lights out at 9pm.

Royal sources said the stopover was not connected to the King’s ongoing treatment for cancer, although doctors have advised the monarch to include appropriate periods of rest as part of the overall long distances covered for the royal tour of Australia and Samoa earlier this month. The couple returned to the UK on a commercial flight and the King will resume his treatment cycle on return to the UK.

A Buckingham Palace spokesperson said: “Their Majesties had a short private stopover in India to help break the long journey back from Samoa. They return to the UK this morning.”

News of the break comes after it was revealed that doctors have green-lit the King’s return to a full programme of events next year, including two major overseas tours. Charles, despite his ongoing cancer fight, is fully behind plans for high-profile tours in the spring and autumn, with Canada one possible destination.

At times, the King, 75, looked weary during his nine-day visit to Australia and Samoa with the Queen. It came to a close on Saturday with a traditional Ava ceremony. The heavens opened in the Samoan village of Siumu as Charles and Camilla were given pink garland necklaces and seated on beige leather thrones.

He also delivered a pointed reference to his illness, saying: “I shall always remain devoted to this part of the world and hope I survive long enough to come back again and see you.”

The King has been having weekly cancer treatment since his diagnosis in February. He reduced his usual duties over the summer to rest ahead of his trip Down Under. A Palace official said: “We’re now working on a pretty normal-looking, full overseas tour programme for next year, which is a high for us to end on, to know that we can be thinking in those terms.

“It is also a great measure of the way that the King is dealing with the diagnosis, and he’s a great believer in mind, body and soul. This combination works very well on a visit like this because he feels that sense of duty so strongly that to keep his mind and his soul engaged.”

During the tour, onlookers remarked how ‘exhausted’ the King looked, as he no doubt battled jet lag and the humid weather in both Australia and Samoa. His condition did appear to improve as he seemed to cope with the time difference and get some down time by reading a “good book” and even swimming with the Queen in Samoa.