The Duchess of Edinburgh is currently bracing for an emotional solo visit to Bosnia without her husband Prince Edward.
The royal will be jetting in on Thursday 10 July, representing King Charles as she visits the country to coincide with the Srebrenica Genocide Memorial Day on 11 July.
The Duchess’ royal engagements will include a visit to Sarajevo’s Old Town, to learn about the impact of the conflict on women and she will also attend a meeting with the Missing Persons Institute. Sophie will have the chance to meet with religious leaders in the area who help to promote peace and reconciliation in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
© GettySophie is preparing for her trip
The genocide ended with up to 8,000 Bosnian Muslim men and boys killed or missing.
Sophie has a long-standing commitment to humanitarian and charity work and this important trip is a huge step for international diplomacy.
Duchess Sophie’s home
The 60-year-old will be departing from her home, Bagshot Park, in Surrey for the poignant trip. She has called the 120-room residence home since 1999 and the family like to keep it largely private, only sharing very rare glimpses inside.
© Getty ImagesBagshot Park is located in Surrey
Nicholas Pevsner, an architectural historian once famously called the property “bad, purposeless, ugly,” referring to its design, but in a HELLO! poll, our readers totally disagreed with 90.2 per cent declaring that it doesn’t look ugly.
In 2021, reports surfaced that Edward had renewed the lease on the property for another 150 years. This would have been at a cost of £5 million to The Crown Estate, and the rent is £90,000 per year, but the property itself is reported to be worth a staggering £30 million should it be listed on the open market.
© GettyEdward, Sophie, Lady Louise and James pictured together
Sophie lives at Bagshot Park along with her husband Edward and her son James Mountbatten-Windsor, Earl of Wessex. Their daughter, Lady Louise Windsor, has now moved out for her studies as she attends St Andrews University, but she often returns home from Scotland for the holidays.
Lady Louise’s uni digs
While Louise has moved into a house share now, she is reported to have lived at St Salvator’s Hall in her first year of her degree.
Sallies, as it is affectionately known, is no ordinary uni halls as there is catering and cleaning provided for the students. How fancy!
© AlamySallies Hall is catered with a cleaner
The halls happen to be where Prince William and Princess Kate previously resided when they were studying.