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The Duchess of Edinburgh has offered a rare insight into life as a working member of the Royal Family during a recent interview.
Sophie, 61, appeared on the Golden Legacy Series podcast hosted by Alaina MacGregor, CEO of British Blind Sport, where they discussed her patronages, the sight-loss community and progress in disability sport. During the episode, released on Wednesday, Sophie reflected on how she supports King Charles in her role as a full-time working royal.
She explained: My role, as with all members of the family, is to primarily support the King and the monarchy. That is one side of the focus. But also, we’re lucky enough to be able to fulfil our passions and our interests and these over my time as a member of the royal family have developed.
Sophie currently serves as patron to more than 70 charities and organisations. Among her key areas of work is supporting eye-care charities across the UK, where she meets with blind and partially sighted individuals and advocates for the support needed to help them lead fulfilling and independent lives.
Speaking further about her work, Sophie highlighted her involvement in global initiatives focused on women’s roles in peace and security.
She said: One of the things I’m doing now is on women’s peace and security in the world. We have the most incredible women who work within communities at all levels of society, and they are often at the frontline of ensuring that peace is secure, that their communities are looked after, and also we try to get them around the peacekeeping tables as much as possible. Aside from that, also the very sad problem the world is dealing with, the issue of conflict-related sexual violence.
In recent months, the Duchess has travelled to several countries as part of this work, including Ukraine and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Most recently, she visited Kenya and Somalia last week at the request of the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office.
The Duchess of Edinburgh during a visit to the Bloomfield Walkways Community Centre in Belfast
Sophie continued by explaining that much of her work involves travelling to challenging regions in order to raise awareness of important issues.
She said: So I spend quite a lot of time going to difficult countries, trying to highlight the work that is going on there, some of the problems they are facing and also trying to highlight some of the good practice that exists out there. Also, global blindness, the world of disability, and food security as well.
Both in the UK and internationally, the Duchess frequently visits schools, hospitals, charities and community organisations, giving her the opportunity to connect directly with people and communities affected by these issues.
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The Duchess of Edinburgh landed back on British soil, having visited Kenya and Somalia last week
A historic visit
Sophie also travelled to Northern Ireland on Tuesday, marking her first visit to the region in eight years. During the trip, she met representatives from Guide Dogs for the Blind to mark the organisation’s 40th anniversary and spent time with Luna, a puppy currently being trained as a guide dog.
As part of her one-day visit, the Duchess also toured a newly opened specialist autism centre in Randalstown, County Antrim, before attending a Women in Leadership event held at the town’s local library.
It has been a particularly busy week for the Duchess. On Wednesday, she hosted a meeting at St James’s Palace in her capacity as patron of the Royal Mencap Society.
Her schedule continues on Thursday with an appearance at a DEBRA Taskforce event at Hever Castle, followed by a visit to the Glasshouse Project at HM Prison East Sutton Park.
The Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh are parents to two children — Lady Louise Windsor, 22, and James, Earl of Wessex, 18.
