Sophie Wessex delivers speech at UN on women in Afghanistan

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Sophie carried out a four-day visit to New York this week, during which she delivered a keynote speech to a United Nations event and put the spotlight on gender equality and women in business. While this isn’t the first time the Countess heads to the Big Apple to carry out similar engagements and has dedicated much of her time as a working royal to these issues, this year’s visit in particular appears to have attracted a lot of media and public attention.

Royal commentator Russell Myers believes the departure of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex may be linked to the increased coverage dedicated to the Countess and Earl of Wessex in recent months.

Appearing on True Royalty TV’s The Royal Beat, the expert said: “Are the Instagram generation going to be as obsessed with Sophie and Edward Wessex as they are with the Sussexes? Obviously not.

“However, when you’re dealing with them… [the Daily Mirror] did a big series about online internet safety for kids, and she was super, super involved in it, going through the finer detail, she is really across her subject matter.

“So, it’s not just for show and she has really grown into that.

“With the Sussexes not here, the Wessexes will undoubtedly benefit.”

Mr Myers also highlighted Sophie and Meghan share some of their interests and charitable efforts, in particular when it comes to female empowerment.

He said: “The similarities between Sophie and Meghan are there to be seen.

“Sophie’s working with girls’ education, she’s done a lot of stuff about violence against females in Africa.”

Meghan has been campaigning for gender equality since she was a child, when she reached out to Procter & Gamble and leading female personalities to denounce an advertisement by the company she had deemed sexist.

Growing up, she used her platform as an actress to further her campaigning efforts, also speaking about period poverty and female empowerment.

Moreover, the Duchess became an advocate for the UN Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women.

After joining the Royal Family, she became patron of Smart Works, a UK-based charity providing practical support and help to women who are trying to rejoin the job market.

As announced by the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s organisation, Archewell, Meghan and Harry celebrated this Women’s History Month with a series of non-profit investments in charities and initiatives “working to advance gender equity, build policies that empower women and families, ensure meaningful media representation for women, and provide women with a network of tools and support for gaining employment.”

Gender equity and fighting to end gender-based violence have been one of the central pillars of Sophie’s work since she joined the Firm as a senior royal in the early 2000s.

On International Women’s Day 2019, the Countess publicly announced her commitment to champion both the Women, Peace and Security (WPS) agenda and the UK’s Preventing Sexual Violence in Conflict Initiative (PSVI) during an event at Buckingham Palace.

During the same year, she headed to New York to deliver a speech at the Commission on the Status of Women at the UN.

Among other important trips carried out by the Countess to highlight the plague of gender-based violence, Sophie visited South Sudan and Kosovo in recent years.

Meghan and Harry’s decision to step down as senior royal in early 2020 put the spotlight on Sophie and Prince Edward, with many commentators believing the couple, beloved by the Queen, would fill the void of duties left by the Sussexes.

However, in an interview with The Sunday Times in June 2020 focused on Sophie’s trip to South Sudan, the Countess briefly touched on the possible impact the Sussexes’ departure could have on her working life.

Asked whether the public would see “more of her”, Sophie said: “There are only so many hours in the day.

“People may pay more attention to what I am doing, but I remain as busy as I have ever been.”

The Countess, however, said the work carried out by royals would be particularly important and frenzied at the end of the pandemic.

She said: “I think we’ll all be busy post this virus.

“There will be many people affected who are going to need a lot of support.

“The whole country will need a lot of support moving forward”.

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