A new portrait of the Duchess of Edinburgh has been unveiled to mark her 60th birthday. In the photo, Sophie is captured by Christina Ebenezer looking relaxed and joyful at Bagshot Park while celebrating the milestone.
Wearing a cream pleated skirt and dark knit top while comfortably situated on a window seat, Sophie is caught mid-laughter as she exudes elegance during the laid-back photoshoot, shot this month.
Buckingham Palace said Sophie, wife of Prince Edward, Duke of Edinburgh, the youngest sibling of King Charles, was interested in Ebenezer’s creative style of photography and wanted to support a rising female photographer.
The Palace said that as the duchess approaches her sixtieth year on Monday, January 20, she is filled with a renewed sense of energy and dedication to her Royal duties, reports Birmingham Live.
Sophie, greatly admired by the late Queen, has seen her public profile grow as of late. In November, she delivered a heartfelt message from King Charles to a Birmingham crowd, who had gathered to mark the 50th anniversary of the pub bombings in the city. More than 20 people died in the attack, believed to have been carried out by the IRA.
The message expressed “sincere admiration for you, the people of Birmingham, who have lived so courageously with the grief of that day and the days that followed”.
Following his parents’ wishes, King Charles gave Edward their father’s Duke of Edinburgh title when he turned 59 in 2023, honouring Edward’s devotion to the Duke of Edinburgh Award for young people.
Consequently, Sophie ascended to the title of Duchess of Edinburgh, which was previously held by Elizabeth II.
It comes after King Charles was accused of climate hypocrisy after burning through more carbon in an 11 minute helicopter journey to a foodbank than most people use in a week.
The monarch dropped into Alloa in his private chopper on Thursday to speak to staff and users of The Gate Foodbank which provides 75,000 meals a year to struggling families and people facing homelessness.
But the Sunday Mail revealed that the King’s journey from his beloved Dumfries House at Cumnock in Ayrshire in his £6million helicopter expelled 0.3 tonnes of carbon emmission during the 11 minute, 50 mile, trip.
Don’t miss the latest news from around Scotland and beyond – Sign up to our newsletterhere.