The Duchess of Edinburgh stole the show in London on Monday with her trademark quiet force and a perfectly autumnal outfit.
Sophie arrived at the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office to mark the 25th anniversary of UN Security Council Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace and Security, an event honouring the women shaping peace efforts across the globe.
UK’s Foreign Secretary, Yvette Cooper used her speech to shine the spotlight right back on Sophie, telling the audience, “Can I just welcome all of you here today.
And can I particularly welcome the Duchess of Edinburgh and to say thank you to you for being here today, but also for her powerful work that you have been doing across the world shining a light on the experiences of women in some of the most challenging circumstances. Thank you.”
The Women, Peace and Security agenda has been championed by very few royals with as much consistency and compassion as the Duchess of Edinburgh.
Fresh off an intensive tour of South and Central America, Sophie has wasted no time getting back to work.
Her recent journey through Peru, Panama, Guatemala, and Belize were carried out at the request of the Foreign Office.
In Guatemala, the Duchess visited La Alianza Guatemala (ALA), a non-profit working to protect vulnerable children and teenagers impacted by trafficking, sexual violence, forced migration and early pregnancy.
She also sat down with leading Guatemalan women to discuss the country’s evolving landscape of female leadership.
Sophie’s advocacy doesn’t stop there. As a dedicated supporter of the UK’s Preventing Sexual Violence in Conflict Initiative (PSVI), she has spent years drawing attention to atrocities committed against women in war zones.
On Tuesday, the Duchess hosted a dinner at St James’s Palace to mark the start of the global “16 Days of Activism to End Gender-Based Violence” campaign.