Happy Birthday to the Countess of Wessex!
Royal mother-of-two Sophie rung in her 56th birthday on Wednesday, and she prefaced the special day by making a very important appearance.
Joining in a virtual webinar with the London School of Economics, Sophie spoke with several guests on the topic of “Warfare and Peacemaking in the 21st Century: who’s taking responsibility to protect and promote peace”.
This coincided with her work on the Women, Peace and Security agenda, as well as the Preventing Sexual Violence in Conflict Initiative.
In the clip, Sophie was seen from her home in Bagshot Park, Surrey, where she lives with her husband Prince Edward and two children Lady Louise and James Viscount Severn.
Wearing a beautiful maroon coloured outfit with a subtle print, Sophie looked effortlessly chic.
She wore her hair lose with minimal makeup.
Less is certainly more when it comes to this royal!
She spoke about how she has listened to the emotional stories of survivors of sexual violence in conflict, with the royal explaining, “To hear their stories, when you have tears dripping off your chin – you can’t help but weep with them. I’ve gone to some very dark places internally, but I am not living it.”
It’s clear to see why Sophie is committed to helping those affected, with the royal’s current work including helping victims of rape, sexual violence, as well as exploitation in war.
Sophie’s birthday was also marked with plenty of well wishes from her family and friends, including a very special message from Buckingham Palace.
Indeed, the Royal Family’s official Instagram account shared a beautiful photo of Sophie along with the caption: “Wishing The Countess of Wessex a very happy birthday today!”
The beautiful image was also accompanied with a link in bio pointer where fans could read more about her life and work.
And given how she spent the eve of her birthday, we think it’s work worth celebrating.