Sophie, the Duchess of Edinburgh, is paying tribute to those lost and the surviving families from one of Europe’s worst genocides.
The Duchess of Edinburgh, 60, visited Srebrenica in Bosnia on July 11 to deliver a message from her brother-in-law King Charles, 76, to recognize the sacrifices of the community that suffered at the hands of the terror of 30 years ago.
Sophie comforted some of the surviving “Mothers of Srebrenica” with a hug at the commemoration held at the former UN base in 1995, where thousands of people sought protection as the town fell to Bosnian-Serbs. In the ensuing massacres by troops led by General Radko Mladić, an estimated 8,000 people — mostly men and boys who had been separated from the women — were killed, the BBC reported.
A spokesperson said the Duchess of Edinburgh was “profoundly moved by today’s ceremony and the experience of visiting Srebrenica, on such an important day, to remember and pay tribute.”
Her message in the Srebrenica Memorial Centre Condolence book said, “Our duty must be to remember all those lost so tragically and to never let these things happen again. It’s only by working together that we find peace. Sophie.”
Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh, in Bosnia on July 11, 2025.
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It was at the commemoration that Sophie read the speech from the King, who said he was “saddened not to be with you in person.”
She said on his behalf, “I have spoken before about the terrible events of 30 years ago, confirmed as genocide by international courts. Many of the individuals responsible are now rightly facing justice, but this does not absolve the rest of us of our duties: both to acknowledge the international community’s failure to prevent the horror and to do all we can to ensure it never happens again.”
And he paid his own tribute, “humbly” saluting the “Mothers of Srebrenica, and all who do so much, despite their continuing anguish, to preserve the memory of those who died. It has meant a very great deal to me, in past years, to have met survivors, mothers and family members of the missing, for whom I have such admiration.”
“Their extraordinary courage, compassion and dignity are a lesson to us all, and it is my hope that we may all take inspiration from their incredible resilience under such unbearable circumstances.”
Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh, in Bosnia on July 11, 2025.
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He praised the inspirational people who continue to “bravely speak out in pursuit of justice and those who dedicate their lives to rebuilding trust between communities for the sake of a better, shared future. These praiseworthy individuals can be found from all walks of life, and from across all ethnic groups, in Bosnia and Herzegovina and around the world.”
It is significant that Sophie was the one King Charles chose to represent him at the commemoration. She has worked for several years on behalf of women caught up in gender-based conflict around the world, often speaking up for victims and survivors at conferences and during visits to war-hit countries.
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Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh, in Bosnia on July 10, 2025.
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The King, who led British commemorations of the 80th anniversary of the Holocaust in Poland in January, added in his message, “But there can be no shared future when the events of the past are denied or forgotten. Only by learning from the past does it become possible to share in each other’s loss and look together to the future. Only by working together to find the missing can there be closure for those still seeking answers.”
Reiterating King Charles’ own view of uniting people of all faiths and backgrounds, Sophie said on his behalf, that we should “honor their memory by standing alongside each and every one of those who work so tirelessly to promote understanding and tolerance between all peoples, of all faiths, nationalities and ethnicities, in the ongoing pursuit of a just and brighter future.”
Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh tours the old town of Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, on July 10, 2025.
Stefan Rousseau/PA Images via Getty
Sophie then went on to view the U.K.-funded exhibition, “In the footsteps of those who have (not) crossed,” which displays the personal belongings of people who were murdered by Bosnian Serb forces in July 1995, as well as items owned by people who survived.
The exhibit shows some of the poignant items found on the path taken by the so-called “march of death,” a column of escapees who fled Srebrenica to Nezuk, many predominantly-Muslim Bosniaks were killed on this route as they attempted to flee to safety.