Duchess Sophie has been praised for her warmth and authenticity after brushing aside concerns over a potential breach of royal protocol during a heartfelt engagement.
Since 2020, the 60-year-old wife of Prince Edward has been serving as royal patron to the Lighthouse charity, which aims “To address poverty of resources, relationships, identity and spirit in communities across Surrey and Hampshire."
Recently, Erik Jespersen, the charity’s co-founder, heaped praises on Sophie’s commitment to The Lighthouse.
Recalling one memorable moment, he said, “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, there's probably some protocol around this kind of thing.” Despite his concern, Sophie was totally undeterred.
"She was brilliant. She was humorous and honest and just really willing to engage," Jespersen added.
In last five years, the mother-of-two has visited three of the nonprofit sites in Woking, Barnsbury and Aldershot.
"She is actually 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'," he fondly said.
Duchess Sophie also took a hands-on role in putting on a Christmas dinner for over 200 Ukrainian refugees for The Lighthouse in 2023.
