The Duchess of Edinburgh has made an under-the-radar visit to the Democratic Republic of Congo, the Royal Family has revealed. Sophie, 60, spent four days in the country on a secret trip that was only made public on her return to Britain due to the high security risk involved.
The Duchess carried out a number of engagements to ‘shine a light’ on the ‘weaponisation of rape’ and recognise the work being done to support victims of horrifying conflict-related sexual violence. During the visit, the Duchess of Edinburgh met with members of the UN peacekeeping forces and heard harrowing first-hand accounts from survivors of mass rape.
The cause has become a focus of Sophie's charitable work, and the visit marks the second time the royal has travelled to the DRC at the request of the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office.
In 2022, Sophie became the first member of the royal family to travel to the DRC. In April 2024, she was the first member of the Royal Family to visit Ukraine since the Russian invasion in 2022. (The Princess Royal recently followed in her footsteps by making a visit to Kyiv). In further proof of Sophie's pioneering nature, in October 2024 she also became the first royal to visit Chad to witness the impact the conflict in neighbouring Sudan has had on women and girls.
The Royal Family shared details of the Duchess's most recent trip, which took place from Monday to Thursday last week, alongside a series of photos showing Sophie meeting with young children, local dignitaries and uniformed military personnel. The visit began with a stop in the northeastern city of Beni, which has become the new regional capital and is now home to displaced DRC government authorities and an increasingly important hub for humanitarian response.
The Duchess met UN peacekeeper ‘blue helmets’ from around the world, heard from women peacebuilders about their vital role in conflict resolution, and met clinicians providing lifesaving UK-funded sexual and reproductive health services to survivors of conflict-related sexual violence.
Following the visit to Beni, the Duchess of Edinburgh travelled to the capital, Kinshasa, where she met the President of DRC, His Excellency Felix Antoine Tshisekedi Tshilombo, and visited a clinic where she listened to powerful testimonies from survivors who shared their experiences and details of the support they received. Afterwards, The Duchess visited a safe house supporting survivors of a mass rape which took place during a mass escape attempt from Kinshasa’s Makala Central Prison in September 2024, during which hundreds of women detainees were assaulted by thousands of men.
On the final day of the visit, The Duchess of Edinburgh travelled to Kintambo General Hospital in Kinshasa.
Sophie, who is committed to drawing attention to the situation of women and girls globally, shares children, Lady Louise Windsor, 21, and 17-year-old James, the Earl of Wessex, with her husband the Duke of Edinburgh.
Posted by shhhhh_h
12 comments
Good for her. The tragedy ongoing there needs to be hoghlighted
I hate that this tour was necessary, but she absolutely has chosen a cause that needs highlighting
It’s sad that the speculation surrounding the private lives of the senior royals overshadows the amazing work Sophie is doing. If they devoted as many articles to this as they do to the manufactured drama. The world might be a better place.
I just recently read about mass rape of those women. It’s unfortunate that this tour was not highlighted in the way it should have been. I saw some posts about it but I wish BP would really lean on the media for tours like this especially since William & Catherine are not doing any at this time.
Oh wow. That’s some really serious and important issues that Sophie shone a light on.
Sophie really has stepped it up since becoming Duchess of Edinburgh. It’s really admirable and the work she’s doing, quietly just getting on with things, is so impressive. Echoes of Anne and the late Queen in her work ethic lately.
She’s fast becoming my fave member of the BRF.
Why can’t these people leave the continent alone?
Like a lot of the problems of the continent are caused by the forefathers of these royals who are obsessed with gloating over the misery that their ancestors caused.
I’m so glad Sophie’s work has highlighted the sexual violence women in Congo, Sudan, and Ukraine face. I think the public at large is still not generally aware there even are conflicts ongoing in the Sudan and Congo.
I’m really impressed with her and Edward’s work ethic and what they do.
I love that she did it because she genuinely wanted to help, not for the cameras and praise.
Not a secret, been served up on a platter to the press for a while, nobody bit. Pretentious white savior complex or PR?
I mean, what does this do?
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