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Sophie, Countess of Wessex, 55, has been based at her Surrey home Bagshot Park with her husband Prince Edward, 56, and two children Lady Louise Windsor, 16, and James Viscount Severn during lockdown. The dedicated royal has volunteered at community initiatives during the pandemic including one ran by Woking’s Shah Jahan Mosque.

Sophie has honoured one exceptional volunteer by submitting a photo she has taken of him to Kate, Duchess of Cambridge’s nationwide photo project.

The Hold Still project was launched by the Duchess of Cambridge in collaboration with the National Portrait Gallery of which she is patron.

The initiative encourages Britons to share their lockdown snaps with the aim of capturing “the spirit of the nation” during these unprecedented times.

The Countess got behind the camera to photograph Ali who helped establish Woking mosque’s food parcel delivery scheme for NHS staff and vulnerable people.

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In her tribute to Ali, Sophie writes: “Ali helped to establish the mosque’s food parcel delivery service for NHS workers, people self-isolating and other families in need, which has so far helped 400 households.”

“Ali volunteers at the mosque every day from 7am – 5pm, keeping up with his day job from home in the evenings.

“Ali’s smile captures the enthusiasm for helping others that is so evident amongst the volunteers at the mosque.”

In recent weeks Sophie joined volunteering teams like Ali’s in a bid to help out her local community in Surrey.

As well as volunteering at the mosque Sophie has helped once a week with Mealforce and Helpforce, a charity providing daily meals for NHS workers, supporting hospitals across London.

The Countess has also given her time to other community initiatives, including the Hope Hub in Camberley, Frimley Park Hospital, Woking Foodbank, Nourish our Nurses, and this week joined volunteers at the Runnymede Foodbank.

Sophie and Kate have joined forces for several charitable projects during lockdown.

They both joined a video call to thank nurses across the Commonwealth on International Nurses Day last month.

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They have also banded together with fellow royal Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall to make phonically to the vulnerable and elderly during lockdown.

According to People, the three royals took part in the NHS Volunteer Responders programme, which is coordinated by the Royal Voluntary Service (RVS), and sees participants ‘check-in and chat’ with people.

Each of the royal women made phone calls to vulnerable people isolated during the pandemic.

Sophie had a chat with Harry Deboo, 89, from Liverpool, who lost his wife around three years ago and recently had a triple bypass

After speaking to Sophie, Harry said: “It was great to chat to The Countess of Wessex and really made my week.

“I have one son who doesn’t live locally – so I don’t get to see many people – especially now.

“I also like to keep the memory of my wife alive and it was great to chat about her.

“She really listened to every word and it was great to share our lockdown experiences together.”

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