Duchess Sophie's elephant encounter gets sweeter after James's cheeky comment

The Duchess of Edinburgh has enjoyed a memorable wildlife with herd of elephants.

Sophie was  delighted as she watched the animals during a visit to the Lower Zambezi, admitting that it was the first time she had seen more than one elephant at once.

“That was the first time I've seen more than one elephant at a time!” she told the wildlife guides who helped her come ashore. “It's so amazing just how peaceful they are.”

She had previously missed out on a family safari enjoyed by her husband, the Duke of Edinburgh, and their son James, Earl of Wessex, several years ago.

When Sophie later asked James what he and his father had seen on their trip, the teenager appeared to soften the blow by giving her a rather understated answer.

“Some elephants,” he reportedly replied.

The Duchess was particularly fascinated to discover that elephants can swim. Spotting one animal on an island, she exclaimed: “I didn't know that elephants could swim!”

“We saw one out on an island and I thought, that was an elephant! How did it get there?” The tour also brought sightings of pods of hippopotamuses and a herd of buffalo.

At one point, Sophie appeared to become an impromptu wildlife guide herself, pointing out an elephant herd and a hippo disappearing beneath the water to members of the press boat travelling behind her.