The photos in this post are from September 12 – Sophie, the Duchess of Edinburgh, went to a British Fashion Council event in London. I’m ashamed to admit how much I enjoy her outfit, especially her trousers. These are the most recent photos of Sophie at any photo agency – even Getty doesn’t have anything more recent. Why is that important? Because Sophie arrived in Tanzania on Monday and almost no one is paying attention to the visit, and none of the photo agencies or media outlets even bothered to send journalists or photographers.
The Duchess of Edinburgh, Sophie, is embarking on a five-day official visit to Tanzania from September 16 to 20, 2024. This marks the first visit by a member of the UK Royal Family to Tanzania since the Duke of Cambridge’s visit in 2018.
According to a statement from the British High Commission in Tanzania, the Duchess’s visit is designed to highlight and celebrate the collaborative efforts between the UK and Tanzania in the fields of health, agriculture, and women’s empowerment.
During her visit, the Duchess will tour Dar es Salaam, Zanzibar and Arusha, engaging with various international organizations including Sightsavers, Uniting to Combat Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs) and the Alliance of Bioversity International and the International Centre for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT).
In Dar es Salaam, Sophie will visit the Magomeni Health Centre, a facility funded by the UK that offers essential sexual health and family planning services. She will also attend a reception focused on UK-Tanzania health cooperation, where she is expected to reaffirm her commitment to eliminating trachoma across the Commonwealth by 2030.
It actually sounds like a substantive trip and like Sophie is highlighting important work being done within the country. But the only photos are from the British embassy in Tanzania – they’re literally the only ones publicizing Sophie’s visit and the work. Keep in mind, when Prince Harry and Meghan visited Colombia last month, British journalists and photographers descended on Colombia and threw tantrums about their lack of access to a private tour. Buckingham Palace also openly briefed against the Sussexes and forced the British press to create a narrative of “the Colombia trip has no purpose!” All of that energy towards H&M… and no one thought to attach a press agency photographer to Sophie’s tour? I thought poor Soph was a senior working royal and the perfect replacement for Harry and Meghan? Huh.
Translation: Sophie went on a pointless trip to Tanzania at great cost to the taxpayer. https://t.co/5cKumpOCWe
— Graham Smith 🇺🇦 🏳️🌈 (@GrahamSmith_) September 17, 2024
Photos courtesy of Cover Images.
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- The Duchess of Edinburgh arriving to attend the British Fashion Council event at Burlington House in London Featuring: Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh Where: London, United Kingdom When: 12 Sep 2024 Credit: PA Images/INSTARimages **NORTH AMERICA RIGHTS ONLY**
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- The Duchess of Edinburgh meeting guests as she attends the British Fashion Council event at Burlington House in London Featuring: Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh Where: London, United Kingdom When: 12 Sep 2024 Credit: PA Images/INSTARimages **NORTH AMERICA RIGHTS ONLY**
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- The Duchess of Edinburgh announcing the winner of the British Fashion Council’s Queen Elizabeth II Award for British Design at Burlington House in London Featuring: Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh Where: London, United Kingdom When: 12 Sep 2024 Credit: PA Images/INSTARimages **NORTH AMERICA RIGHTS ONLY**
Proof that the only royals that matter to the UK tabloids are the ones they ran off of Salt Island. Bunch of losers, the lot of them.
OMFD I am laughing and laughing and laughing!!! Imagine the confusion and frustration among William and Khate and Charles and the Prune at being thwarted in their attempts to outdo H&M.
Imagine what they were hoping about trouncing H & M with this TRIUMPHANT royal tour!!!
This is delicious. And by the way, I am noticing how desperate the KP bots and supporters are getting on twitter. They see the increasingly good press for H&M and are absolutely shitting their pants. If you comment on this, they swarm on you in an absolute rage.
Oh, I so hope to see more royal tours like this. And the complaints about spending thousands and thousands of taxpayer money on them. The antimonarchy movement only grows with shit like this.
“Proof that the only royals that matter to the UK tabloids are the ones they ran off of Salt Island.”
The only Royals that matter to the UK tabloids are the Royals that sell newspapers and generate clicks for revenues.
I’m gonna say I’m not a Sophie stan. Like ever. She’s not a thoroughbred she’s a workhorse, but she’s a good workhorse.
To me, she seems to be a perfectly reasonable married in person, who does show up to do work. (Unlike her nephew and his wife). And I find that it is a shame that she is ignored. Not because she’s dynamic, but because she shows up and does the work, and seems to take it seriously. And so I think that’s the problem with the British media, they want the flash and zing of Diana, her overpowering charisma and charm, and they don’t have that anymore, And so they are so bored that they can’t even be bothered to do their jobs. I think Sophie is actually interested in her charities, and her work, but nobody talks about her and that is down to the British media. It is not down to Sophie. She can’t turn herself into Diana and she can’t turn herself into Meghan Markle. Everyone bitches about the royal family, not doing anything, but she’s just chugging away in the background kind of like Princess Anne.
Sophie HAS to do the Royal work because she & Edwards do not (openly) earn money outside the Royal Family. Their half-in half-out as working royals during the early years of their marriage was a failure. He, as a TV/film producer but made the mistake to shoot in St. Andrew when Willy studied there; she, established her PR firm but was caught on tape using an unsavory word to describe QE2. Then the children came so they have to rely on QE2 & now KC3 to maintain their lifestyle & bring up children. (They live in a mega-mansion.) They HAVE TO do it, not they WANT TO do it.
Honestly, what is the point of doing these trips – which are meant to highlight good causes and initiatives – if they don’t get the publicity? It’s a wasted opportunity.
(Especially when we know how much better the Sussexes do this sort of thing).
I do like the outfit with the purple shirt and trousers though. It’s so much better on her than the frumpy dresses she normally goes for.
Maybe it helps these orgs get publicity within their own country if it’s covered by the local news. That’s all I’ve got.
So I searched Twitter to see if there is any engagement for this story. Here is what I found:
1. Tweets from Celebitchy about how this story isn’t being covered by *anyone*.
2. A few sad tweets by Tanzanian officials. In Tanzanian.
Ha ha ha ha so awesome. Not a *single* western outlet.
I found a few. One listed her outfits (designer etc) with photos . People magazine was also reporting with photos. The Daily Mail, Daily Express, Irish Times and more were reporting.
Maybe we’d know what is the point if the press thought to ask instead of just repeating a post. “Collaborative efforts between the UK and Tanzania” must mean something.
It’s probably for the best. William and Kate’s Caribbean tour was such a disaster people forget that Sophie and Edward also had a flop tour around the same time.
I remember the official’s face when Sophiesta and Ed gave him a framed picture of themselves. 😝
Good times!
I think the lack of publicity is the fault of the monarchy. With all that money in their coffers, they could send a photographer/social media person and highlight the important parts of the trip. It sounds like Sophie is trying to shed light on these important issues, but no one is there. If the monarchy wants a positive light, they have to do the work instead of depending on trad media.
I think the mistake people make is that having a royal show up automatically generates interest and publicity. But it just doesn’t. Most of the working royals (actually all of them, really) are very dull and lacking in charisma / star power.
So it’s really questionable what value they can add to overseas visits like this.
I like her clutches.
In these photos, I’ve been looking at the faces of the people around the royals and thinking about the hopes and intentions they have for being in the photos.
The Oatmeal and Mayo royals remain a snooze.
As they are cursed to be.
It is amazing that the British press was in an uproar because they were excluded from Harry and Meghan’s visits but refuse to follow an actual working royal on her tour. It doesnt even seem like Tim Rooke has gone on this trip. He’s the royal photographer who usually follows her around. Why didn’t a member of BP comms team go with her? It’s very puzzling.
So they openly admit that royal tours are pointless if their own media doesn’t cover them. The royals are not ambassadors–they are celebrities.
OK with me, let’s all start to ignore the Royals. lol
The press wants gossip, pics, stir things up, make up stories to keep $$/clicks coming.
Is anyone bothered by the Foreign Office warning against all but essential travel to parts of Tanzania?
https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/tanzania
That would only be highlighted in the media if H&M went there. Just like Colombia was okay for Sophie to visit.
I suspect the only way this trip will be publicized is if the Sussexes visit shortly. Then they will drag up whatever images from cell phones they can find of Sophie.
That was how I found out that Sophie had been to Colombia.
Waaaaaaaaait a minute. Isn’t she a rock AND a secret weapon? Poor Sophiesta. Couldn’t happen to a more deserving cult Karen.
My thoughts exactly. This is no way to treat your “secret weapon” BRF and BM! But maybe Sophiesta is not up to the job, and they need to send out the real secret weapons, Zara and Mike Tindall. That’ll really gin up the excitement!
The RF would be better off sending Basil Brush than Tindall.
No-one cares about poor Sophie or even Prince William. I couldn’t even remember he had been to Tanzania before. Can you imagine the press if it had been the Sussexes? The royal family is pretty charisma free right now.
I was scratching my head at that too. I have zero recollection of him traveling to Tanzania. It was probably a 24 hour visit or something.
But her title! But her connection to the royal family! But but but but!!
Funny how the propaganda from salt island is always the only reason the Sussexes are successful is because they’re royal while anyone who bothers to look can see that NONE of the other royals have their level of success or engagement. LMAO
Lady Diana SPENCER married in and made those royals interesting. She was so popular it transferred to her sons until William squandered it. Harry embodies the best values of his mother and grew the love and respect with his own work then married Meghan who brought her own fans making the Sussexes a supernova. It LITERALLY has nothing to do with the royals.
They’ll use the lack of publicity to slam H&M for making their trips ‘all about them’. The press would rather ignore someone doing real work (for a royal) than miss a chance to criticize Harry.
“During her visit, the Duchess will tour Dar es Salaam, Zanzibar and Arusha, engaging with various international organizations including Sightsavers, Uniting to Combat Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs) and the Alliance of Bioversity International and the International Centre for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT).
In Dar es Salaam, Sophie will visit the Magomeni Health Centre, a facility funded by the UK that offers essential sexual health and family planning services.”
All these organisations and initiatives deserve every support they can get. So why didn’t the officials at BP who planned the trip *and* the Foreign Office and the British Embassy cooperate for maximum effect and exposure? They truly fumbled the ball and make it look like a leisure trip for Sofiesta.
Why doesn’t the rota care? Or the Beeb, who was last seen stomping their feet over being denied access to H&M’s privately funded trip?
BTW, whatever happened to Mr Ed?
Is he benched, sick, or otherwise occupied that he couldn’t go? Or is he too much of a racist that he can’t be trusted to make even bigger gaffes than dear old dad?
They made an official press release, a pretty long one, but that is all. The various Twitter handles should be highlighting it daily. And showing her video, which exists, of various events on the YouTube channel.
🤣🤣🤣
Serves Charles right for running Harry and Megan off.
I’ve been wondering about Princess Anne. Haven’t seen anything about her since she fell off her horse. I hope she’s ok. Nobody in that family works harder – and receives zero credit and attention – than Anne. At this point though, I think Anne prefers it that way. She’s able quietly do her work and stay under the radar.
She has plenty of engagements according to the royal diary. I suppose that only Meghan and Kate are glamorous enough for the media to be interested.
Daily mail had 1 tiny article. They couldn’t be bothered to use a pic from the visit.
They can’t get a bazillion comments from just “Well done, Sophie.” By posting the bare minimum they make it look like she’s wasting the taxpayers’ money – that will get comments.
Sophie is Anne lite.
Anne is in her 70’s and has outworked the younger Royals for decades.
She every right to reduce her work load.
Not Annes fault that W&K are lazy. Andrew should be in jail, Fergie and their girls are boring, no one wants more Mike Tinsdale either.
I do wonder why Ed isn’t doing more?
But we all know the glory days of the young, charming royals are over.
H&M + W&K as the Fab four could have been spinning Cool Britannia for years easily.
Now H is lost to The Firm, big mistake. I am saying it again, the BRF is in a downward spiral.
Hopefully it all burns to the ground before it consumes George.
Sophie the BRF’s secret weapon. So secret nobody knows she’s there
I feel sorry for Sophie, she just gets on with the job and gets little attention, if there is no publicity these trips are a bit of a waste of time. Perhaps she shouldn’t bother.
OMG I live in Tanzania and I had no clue , where can I see the itinerary maybe I can go catch a glimpse.
Hmm. So no articles about the average yearly wage for a Tanzanian worker in comparison to the cost of this trip for their taxpayers, how much security costs are for this trip, what purpose this visit serves to the average Tanzanian citizen, if she has large crowds meeting her everywhere she’s announced to be, how much her clothes and jewelry cost, and whether or not the UK government considers Tanzania to be a ” safe” country to visit? Why it’s almost as if they don’t actually care about any of those things when it’s not Harry and Meghan. Sad thing is that from the write up these all sound like very worthwhile causes that would deserve the breathless reporting and 20 articles a day for a 5-day trip to get attention on them.
I looked at the Mail site and couldn’t find anything about it, although it has been reported by The Mail, Not the daily mail but the Mail a local newspaper in Cumbria,
Any articles about costs to Tanzania for Sophies trip? Who pays for her security?
Also, what is the cost of her wardrobe while she’s there?
I guess having an HRH and being a full time working Royal doesn’t bring you squat if
no one knows or gives a f who you are . You aren’t Harry and Meghan . Poor sophie always a fiesta and never a Bentley . Must suck to be her .
She is actually one of the busier royals.
That’s a pretty low bar, isn’t it?
To give Sophie her due, she has made numerous foreign, and Commonwealth trips to Africa for a while to little or no fanfare. I don’t know what impact her trips have, but she has quietly been toiling away. I think Anne is her model. I can’t ever think well of her because of her behaviour towards Meghan and Harry at the Commonwealth service and the funeral of Queen Elizabeth as well as her stupid comment “Oprah,who?” but she hasn’t been lazy as a working royal after she was caught on tape trying to use royal influence for her company. From the anecdotes circulating from her appearances, though, she is apparently less than charming and she has accused of being outright rude.
Years ago there was a photo of her in a Knightsbridge street bawling out her Police bodyguard.
Loss of control in a public place.
She is quite literally the monarchy’s secret weapon. Emphasis on secret.
It would be interesting if Archewell posted about her trip. She wouldn’t appreciate it but it would highlight all these great causes that Archewell also supports
I really wish people would stop gaslighting the Sussexes. Why should they use their platforms to promote works of people who seek their harm? I will never forget how Sophie publicly ingratiated herself to the powers that be, especially William and Kate, by targeting Meghan — at the Commonwealth service and at the Queens funeral. She can eat dust, for all I care. She’s a dowdy doormat who should make her way to the dustbin of history, where people like her belong.
Are they posting any photos on the various royal websites, Instagram accounts and Twitter feeds? Are they posting anything on TikTok? Do they just expect to show up and magically have coverage?
I assume she wants it that way and is happy to fly under the radar. The newspapers have most certainly been instructed to leave her alone.
I don’t believe she wants it that way. What would be the point? The royals have to be seen to be believed. You are right that she wants none of the negative coverage, but believe me, she wants accolades.
Right, and didn’t she have to resort to bringing her own photographer one year, in order to ensure that she gets in the papers? Let’s face it, Sophie can’t buy a news cycle.
I really don’t think that any leftovers should be going to Africa, without an apology and a return of looted artifacts. Otherwise, they’ve done enough damage to that continent. This one presented herself as the antidote to Diana way back in the 90s, and she’s presented herself as the replacement for Diana’s daughter-in-law. There’s a reason Ford retired the Fiesta. Please name me the one-and-a-half folkses who will pick a Fiesta over a Lamborghini.
I’m just surprised that this keeps happening because Sophie seems to have good connections in the press and they still don’t care enough to cover most of her events.