Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh

[Auroranorth]

Good for them. I think this was a perfect time to announce it, being Edward's birthday, and the two of them have really worked hard as supportive senior royals.

[Ladybug]

Sophie is currently visiting Iraq.

The Duchess of Edinburgh paid a visit to Iraq on the request of the foreign and commonwealth office. While in Iraq, she met with the President and First Lady.

The Prime Minister and regional Prime minister of Kurdistan Region and Deputy Prime minister.

Having productive discussions on strengthening bilateral ties and appreciating British support in the fight against terrorism and highlighted the commitment to human rights, supporting victims, and fostering partnerships.

Discussing friendly ties between KRI-UK, assisting female survivors of war and KRG’s unwavering support to peaceful coexistence among diverse communities and human rights, inclusion and gender equality, empowering women and girls.

ETA more pics from her trip

[canuckcutie]

I’m super happy that Sophie is now the Duchess of Edinburgh. She is a great representative for the royals.

Championing the victims of conflict related sexual violence is a worthy cause and I’m glad Sophie isn’t shying away from such an important and sensitive issue.

[chitowngirl]

I don’t want to derail The Duchess’s thread, but THIS is the sort of work Meghan could be doing…. And the sort of work I’m sure everyone thought she would be and wanted to do.

[Ladybug]

May 23, 2023 15:30:28 GMT -4 chitowngirl said:

I don’t want to derail The Duchess’s thread, but THIS is the sort of work Meghan could be doing…. And the sort of work I’m sure everyone thought she would be and wanted to do.

I don't want to derail the thread either, but I will say that Sophie has worked hard to position herself as someone who could undertake this diplomatic task on behalf of the foreign office. She wasn't doing this in her first few years as a royal (in fact, she was trying to be half-in, half-out like M&H and it was failing). Sophie has put in years of work to get to this level where she would be asked to do this and do it successfully. Meghan wanted this kind of royal assignment right out of the gate and I'm sorry but she wasn't up to the task. Sophie has spent years as a royal, has many foreign trips and tours under her belt, and has built up credibility on the issue of women, sexual assault, and conflict. There's a phrase in Texas that I think applies to Meghan, "she's all hat and no cattle." Sophie has the cattle.

[Deleted]

Woman dies after being hit by police motorcycle escorting Duchess of Edinburgh
It happened over a week ago and the poor lady passed away today. It was briefly reported on at the time.


My heart goes out to the poor woman’s family and friends. May she have peace and her family have some accountability from the royal family.

[featherhat]

This is extremely sad but wouldn't the police motorcade be the main ones being held accountable? We don't exactly know what went on but unless it turns out Sophie was attempting to get her motorcade to drive dangerously, then this isn't her fault but an all too common motorbike/pedestrian collision.

Obviously there should be a thorough investigation and I imagine this will indeed big big news for a few days. Sophie and BP did issue statements at the time.

[tiggertoo]

I haven’t read the details but this is very tragic. Not sure what type of accountability is required from the RF, unless laws were broken. Were they speeding? Not obeying traffic signals? I’m sure an investigation is underway.

[Ginger]

The Metropolitan Police are in charge of how they drive and making sure their escort procedures are safe, so that's where accountability should lie. It's not just the safety of royals they are supposed to protect, but the public as well. It's not the first time one of their motorbikes has struck an elderly pedestrian, relatively recently (2019). My first question would be how fast were they going and was the speed appropriate or necessary.

I know the big thoroughfares in that part of West London are like four lanes of fast, chaotic traffic and just stepping out into some of the crosswalks is risky. And a person in their 80s with reduced situational awareness would be at greater risk anyway. But the Metropolitan police are supposed to be good at what they do and this is unacceptable.

This stuff doesn't happen with Secret Service motorcades.

[royalwave]

May 23, 2023 17:48:09 GMT -4 Ladybug said:

I don't want to derail the thread either, but I will say that Sophie has worked hard to position herself as someone who could undertake this diplomatic task on behalf of the foreign office. She wasn't doing this in her first few years as a royal (in fact, she was trying to be half-in, half-out like M&H and it was failing). Sophie has put in years of work to get to this level where she would be asked to do this and do it successfully. Meghan wanted this kind of royal assignment right out of the gate and I'm sorry but she wasn't up to the task. Sophie has spent years as a royal, has many foreign trips and tours under her belt, and has built up credibility on the issue of women, sexual assault, and conflict. There's a phrase in Texas that I think applies to Meghan, "she's all hat and no cattle." Sophie has the cattle.

I agree. When I first read about this trip, I thought it was a pretty impressive assignment--along the lines of what you might expect an ambassador or foreign secretary to undertake. You don't just let anybody hop on over to Iraq to hold fairly serious discussions with prime ministers. Sophie has clearly put in the time to get to the point where she is trusted with assignments like this. I don't even know that Kate is at a point yet to have taken this on.

You have to have a lot of discretion to be a successful diplomat, which is essentially what the royals are asked to be in these situations. We now know that Harry and Meghan were very much lacking in that department. The Edinburghs though, have it in spades. But as was noted, it took years for Sophie to get to this point.