Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh, Arrives in Zambia for Six-Day Working Visit

Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh, has arrived in Lusaka for a six-day official visit focused on health, education, women’s empowerment, conservation and culture.

She arrived on September 14 and began her programme with engagements linked to eye health, setting the tone for a visit centred more on community work and development than ceremony.

Her itinerary will take her to Lusaka, the Lower Zambezi and Livingstone, where she is expected to meet teachers, healthcare workers, business leaders, artists and conservationists.

She will also meet President Hakainde Hichilema at Community House. In Livingstone, the Duchess is scheduled to lay a posy at the First World War memorial at Mosi-oa-Tunya, one of Zambia’s major heritage and natural landmarks.

The Zambia visit reflects Sophie’s wider international work, particularly in health and the fight against sexual and gender-based violence. In recent years, she has travelled across Africa meeting healthcare workers, survivors of conflict-related sexual violence, anti-trafficking investigators and communities working to build peace.

Her role as a global ambassador for eye health has also placed healthcare among the key areas of her international work.

Who is Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh?

Before joining the Royal Family, Sophie built a career in public relations in London. She married Prince Edward, the youngest son of Queen Elizabeth II, in 1999 and became the Countess of Wessex.

She continued her public work and gradually took on more royal responsibilities. In 2023, when King Charles III conferred the title Duke of Edinburgh on Prince Edward, Sophie became the Duchess of Edinburgh.

Once regarded as one of the quieter members of the Royal Family, Sophie has taken on a larger international role in recent years. With King Charles and the Princess of Wales temporarily reducing their public duties during cancer treatment, she became one of the monarchy’s more active working royals.

Her six-day visit to Zambia therefore comes as part of a broader role that increasingly takes her beyond ceremonial duties — meeting people working in schools, health facilities, businesses and conservation projects, while using her position to draw attention to their work.