Duchess Sophie made a subtle yet meaningful gesture during a recent royal outing, one that went largely unnoticed by the public but spoke volumes about her quiet influence within the Royal Family.
As per Hello!, the Duchess of Edinburgh is famous for her involved style while performing her royal duties.
During a heartfelt meeting with Ukrainian refugees, the outlet reported that Sophie showed deep compassion by “holding space” for those she met.
Sophie has become the part of Surrey and Hampshire-based charitable organization,The Lighthouse since 2020, it aims to support marginalised and vulnerable members of society through its various programmes and initiatives.
Over the past five years, the Duchess has visited different groups over three of its four sites in Woking, Barnsbury and Aldershot.
The Lighthouse's co-founder, Erik Jespersen, shared that the Duchess always connects with clients on a human level.
Jespersen said, "Obviously we're trying to make it easy for her just to say hello and say a few nice words to people, but she actually is the one who sits down and has deep conversations with people and – you know, 'Forget the schedule, forget the program, I really want to hear their stories'.”
The co-founder added, "She sat around a table with some of our homeless clients and just really got into their stories in a beautiful way. They absolutely loved her interest in them."
Jespersen recalled a touching moment, "We had one incident where she was sitting around the table talking to a group of people, and they started asking her about the royal family at Christmas, and I was like, 'Oh no, you know, there's probably some protocol around this kind of thing'. And she was brilliant. She was humorous and honest and just really willing to engage."
In 2023, Sophie spotted with an apron as she served up a festive dinner at a Christmas party to support over 200 local Ukrainian refugees.
