Sound the Royal Watching klaxon: There’s been an emissary from the House of Windsor on Canadian soil this week, marking Ontario’s first royal visit under the new sovereign’s watch. It's a duchess, no less.
HRH Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh, has been on a five-day solo visit to our shores, and here's what she's been up to.
Sophie — tall, blond, former PR executive, lover of a formal jumpsuit — has been married to Prince Edward, Queen Elizabeth II’s youngest child, for 24 years.
Formerly known as the Countess of Wessex, and before that by her maiden name, Rhys-Jones, she became the Duchess of Edinburgh when the title passed to her husband after Prince Philip died. They have two children: Lady Louise (who turned 20 today) and 16-year-old James, who’s now Earl of Wessex. (Keep up!)
Sophie was famously close to the late Queen, whom she reportedly called “Mama” and would often visit to watch television with in her later life. Case in point: When Prince Philip died, the palace released a picture of the Queen and her husband looking happy and relaxed on a Scottish hillside. The photographer? Sophie.
Long a quiet achiever within the royal family, she’s patron of 70 charities and is particularly interested in women’s empowerment, recently leading a roundtable discussion on the impact of menopause in the workplace. She’s campaigned to prevent “avoidable blindness,” and is also patron of Guide Dogs.
Recently, it seems King Charles has been leaning on his sister-in-law for some soft diplomacy: In addition to this trip to Canada, and another last month to Ethiopia, she went on official business to the Democratic Republic of Congo, the first royal ever to do so.
Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh, met staff and patients while visiting hospitals in Toronto.
Courtesy of UHN Foundation
Why is Sophie in Canada?
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She’s here on a “private working visit,” which is not the same as a full-blown official royal tour. Fun fact: Sophie and/or Edward have visited Canada a combined 36 times, with the duchess present for at least 10 of those trips. In fact, her first overseas tour after becoming a royal began in Prince Edward Island.
This time around, she’s been in Ontario: On Saturday, she was in Niagara tasting ice wine and later, in her role as colonel-in-chief of the Lincoln and Welland regiment, she presided over the Countess of Wessex Cup, where the various military regiments she “leads” compete in skills contests. In true royal photo op fashion, we saw her try her hand at some rifle target shooting.
On Sunday, she kept to a military theme by attending a Remembrance Day service in nearby St. Catharines.
Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh, tested out a VR headset designed to help with patient recovery.
Courtesy of UHN Foundation
Has Sophie been spending time in Toronto?
Yes! For the rest of her visit, Sophie headed down the QEW to Toronto, where she spent three days being hosted by the University Hospital Network, visiting Toronto General and Toronto Western hospitals, of which she is patron.
She’s been touring various specialty departments — a cardiac centre and emergency room at Toronto General; an eye clinical research unit at Toronto Western — meeting staff and patients along the way. She also dabbled in a bit of virtual reality, testing out a headset designed to help patients with vision impairment regain their sight, and learning about how AI could help with rehab.
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Since it’s not a royal trip without a ribbon cutting, she also formally opened a program focused on neuroregeneration (regrowing nerve tissue).
Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh, wore a Birks diamond maple leaf necklace during her trip to Toronto.
Courtesy of UHN Foundation
“It’s been fantastic to be back in Toronto, it’s such a friendly and positive city," the duchess said. "Having been Patron of Toronto General and Toronto Western hospitals since 2005, I’ve seen over many years how they are always moving health care forward while continuing to put communities first. On this visit it was fascinating to hear how they are using advancements in research and technology to enhance patient care and the exciting opportunities this offers for the future. I have really enjoyed the opportunity to reconnect with UHN and all the amazing supporters who do so much for the hospital.”
We know royals communicate with their clothes. What did Sophie wear for this trip?
A single piece has done the most symbolic heavy lifting this trip: a diamond maple leaf pendant she’s worn on at least three days. The necklace is made by Canadian jeweller Birks, and has been in her private collection since 2013. It’s both an obvious nod to our national emblem and a subtler tribute to the late Queen, who had a collection of Canadiana-themed brooches, the most famous of which is the Asprey brooch given to her mother before a trip to Canada in 1939, and which she wore frequently after she inherited it in 2002. The piece has also been loaned to other royal women for their own Canadian visits, including now-Queen Camilla and Catherine, Princess of Wales.
In terms of her clothes, Sophie’s given us a gamut of looks. She went military casual over the weekend, when she wore a Bally jacket and Meindl combat boots, followed by a glam turn for a reception when she wore a sparkling gown by London-based Canadian designer Erdem. She also leaned on a few of her favourite designers — Suzannah London for a navy coat, Me+Em for a floral daytime frock — and mostly wore repeats, although the latter was new.
Proof that even royals sometimes have to be space-conscious when they pack, Sophie doubled up with a pair of black Aquazzura boots, wearing them on two separate days, and also carried the same Sophie Habsburg bag to two separate formal engagements.
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Correction – Nov. 9, 2023: This article was edited from a previous version that said the Duchess of Edinburgh’s visit to Ontario is the first British royal visit to Canada since King Charles’ coronation. The Princess Royal visited New Brunswick in May.
Sarah Laing
is a Toronto-based freelance contributor for The Kit, writing about
celebrity and culture. Follow her on Twitter: @sarahjanelaing.
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