If Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh was bothered about the claims made about her in Omid Scobie’s bombshell book, she certainly didn’t show it as she completed a visit to Colombia.
The Duchess was invited on the trip at the request of the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, with engagements in Bogotá and Cali during her trip, in support of the United Nations’ Women, Peace and Security Agenda (WPS).
During her trip, Sophie went to Bogotá, meeting Vice President of Colombia, Francia Márquez, and later visiting the Centre for Memory, Peace and Reconciliation (Centro de Memoria, Paz y Reconciliación), where she met with women impacted by conflict-related sexual violence.
She also visited Cali, where she learnt about the culture and traditions of the local Pacific region, which are deeply rooted in the impacts of armed conflict.
The Duchess immersed herself in dance during her trip, in line with her patronage at the Central School of Ballet, and attended La Licorera, the city’s cultural centre for dance and choreography, involving herself in a workshop ran by the British Council.
Sophie was also treated to a fashion showcase, with many designers involved being survivors of the impacts of armed conflict. The Duchess was pictured addressing guests on issues related to women, peace, security, conflict resolution, and the protection of Colombia’s biodiversity.
The Duchess’s international visit was worlds away from the storm continuing to unfold in the UK, following the release of Omid Scobie’s bombshell book.
Sophie and her husband Prince Edward were accused of “bigotry” relating to an interview where they were asked about Oprah Winfrey, with the couple responding “Oprah who?”
The Telegraph’s associate editor Camila Tominey, who was the interviewer in the referenced interview, responded to the accusations on her GB News programme.
She said: “Can I just say I did that interview with the Earl and Countess of Wessex as they were then known, that’s Sophie and Edward to the uninitiated.
“And what they were saying was I was trying to obviously get a news line out of them, what do you think of Oprah, and they kind of went ‘Oprah who’ as in, you know, we can’t really mention her name because it’s all very sensitive.”
