{"id":1004553,"date":"2026-06-04T09:23:31","date_gmt":"2026-06-04T09:23:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/1004553\/"},"modified":"2026-06-04T09:23:31","modified_gmt":"2026-06-04T09:23:31","slug":"prince-edward-and-sophie-end-three-day-international-tour-with-traditional-ceremony-in-portugal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/1004553\/","title":{"rendered":"Prince Edward and Sophie end three-day international tour with traditional ceremony in Portugal"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh brought their three-day Portuguese tour to a close with a traditional port wine ceremony at Graham’s Port Lodge in Porto.<\/p>\n

Following a countdown, Sophie took the lead in splashing port over a wooden cask, with Edward following suit moments later in the time-honoured “baptism” ritual.<\/p>\n

The royal couple join a distinguished list of visitors who have participated in this custom, most recently the Duke of Kent.<\/p>\n

When presented with an impressively large bottle of port during the visit, the Duchess quipped: “We could swim in it!”<\/p>\n

\"Prince<\/p>\n

Prince Edward and Sophie | Source: GETTY<\/p>\n

The ceremony provided a memorable finale to a trip that had seen the pair travel from Lisbon to Porto, marking the enduring friendship between Britain and Portugal.<\/p>\n

Earlier that day, the couple had been bestowed with one of Porto’s most prestigious accolades at the Town Hall, where a guard of honour awaited them.<\/p>\n

Mayor Pedro Duarte extended a warm welcome, declaring: “We are celebrating not only a nation’s friendship but also a shared commitment to freedom, the rule of law and the values that bring our people together.”<\/p>\n

The Keys to the City represents an exceptional distinction, having been presented to merely nine individuals over the past five years, among them French President Emmanuel Macron.<\/p>\n

\"Prince<\/p>\n

Prince Edward and Sophie | Source: GETTY<\/p>\n

Prince Edward expressed his gratitude, noting it was Sophie’s inaugural visit to Porto and describing the gesture as “a token of immense trust”, adding that they were “deeply honoured”.<\/p>\n

The Duke also made time to visit the Oporto British School, the oldest British educational institution on the European continent, for a Duke of Edinburgh’s International Award Open Day.<\/p>\n

Edward took on the role of patron for the youth organisation in 2023, succeeding his late father in the position.<\/p>\n

During his time at the school, he assisted students preparing for their Gold expedition, the Award’s most challenging level, helping one group erect a tent.<\/p>\n

In a light-hearted exchange with a pupil who confessed to losing his way during a previous trip, the Duke offered reassurance: “You didn’t get lost because you are here \u2013 you were temporarily misplaced on the map.”<\/p>\n

The visit to Portugal served to honour the centuries-old bond between the two nations, a relationship formally established through the Treaty of Windsor in 1386.<\/p>\n

This alliance was strengthened the following year when King Jo\u00e3o of Portugal wed Philippa of Lancaster, who became his Queen.<\/p>\n

As part of their Porto itinerary, Edward and Sophie visited the city’s ancient cathedral, the very site where the royal wedding took place in 1387.<\/p>\n

The day before, the couple had paid their respects at Batalha Monastery, where the Portuguese King and Queen are interred.<\/p>\n

Their tour, which commenced in Lisbon, celebrated the Anglo-Portuguese partnership that continues to flourish today.<\/p>\n

Our Standards: <\/strong>The GB News Editorial Charter<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh brought their three-day Portuguese tour to a close with a traditional port…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1004554,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[7708],"tags":[21076,278477,3046,21034,278476,5105,7710,519,448,21035,92811,278478],"class_list":["post-1004553","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-royals","tag-duke-of-edinburgh","tag-oporto-british-school","tag-portugal","tag-prince-edward","tag-prince-edward-and-sophie","tag-royal","tag-royal-families","tag-royal-family","tag-royals","tag-sophie","tag-the-duke","tag-traditional-port-wine"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/116691116183859358","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1004553","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1004553"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1004553\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1004554"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1004553"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1004553"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1004553"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}