Sophie Wessex looks stylish in a Max Mara dress and £470 designer shoes as she opens a children's play park in Peterborough before kicking off her tour of India
- Royal, 54, visited Wittering village, Peterborough, where she opened a play park
- Countess looked elegant in a Max Mara dress and navy blazer with swede heels
- Sophie will soon head to India for a five-day visit for the Diamond Jubilee Trust
- The trip will be her final duty ahead of the trust closure on 31st January 2020
The Countess of Wessex arrived in Peterborough today to open a new play area for children living in the Northamptonshire city.
Sophie, 54, was welcomed by a crowd of excited schoolchildren as she visited Wittering village, where she was scheduled to open a new play park.
The royal cut a stylish figure in a £336 cream MaxMara dress, which has now sold out, and a recycled navy blazer, which she accessorised with £470 grey suede shoes from Gianvito Rossi.
Sophie, who shares two children with Prince Edward, 55, let local children guide her to the new Centenary Play Park in St George's Road.
Once there, the youngsters showed her the new equipment in the play park - which has been funded by the Royal Air Force Benevolent Fund - and she was pictured cutting the ribbon to officially open the park.
The Countess of Wessex, 54, was in Peterborough where she opened a new play park for the children of Wittering Village. She let the excited pupils guide her to the play area
Sophie Wessex looked relaxed as she official cut the ribbon of the play park, to the joy of all children present
Sophie was stylish in a cream Max Mara dress and a navy jacket which she recycled and accessorised with suede heels from Gianvitto Rossi
Sophie looked rested and happy for her first engagement since Easter weekend, which she spent in Windsor with her Edward, and children Lady Louise, 15, and James, 11.
Making the most of the sunny Easter weekend, James was pictured practicing his driving skills in the family's Range Rover, taking his mother for a spin.
The family attended the Easter Service on Sunday and enjoyed a family day horse riding and playing with their dogs on the grounds of Windsor Castle, while the Queen was pictured horse riding by herself.
Sophie's engagement comes ahead of her five-day visit to Mumbai, Hyderabad and New Delhi from Monday 29 April to Friday 3 May.
Sophie quietly chatted with the pupils present as they led her to the play park, located in St George's Road
Sophie looked rested after an Easter weekend spent in Windsor with her husband Edward, 55 and their children
The children looked on excitedly as Sophie expertly cut the ribbon to mark the opening of the new play area, which was funded by the RAF Benevolent Fund
The Countess of Wessex will visit India as part of her final duty for the Diamond Jubilee Trust ahead of its closure in January 2020.
Sophie who is Vice Patron of The Queen Elizabeth Diamond Jubilee Trust, will see the work the charitable foundation has supported to tackle avoidable blindness in babies born prematurely.
She will also hear about the impact of programmes successfully launched by Queen’s Young Leaders.
The royal is an avid sight-loss campaigner as Lady Louise Windsor, 15, her daughter with Prince Edward, was born with a severe squint that affected her vision.
Sophie Wessex, 54, who is Vice Patron of The Queen Elizabeth Diamond Jubilee Trust, will visit Hyderabad, Mumbai and New Delhi from Monday 29th April to Friday 3rd May. Sophie is seen during a previous trip to India in 2013
During the trip Sophie will visit three hospitals across Hyderabad to see first-hand the work the Trust has helped to establish to prevent premature babies from losing their sight.
The Countess will see the screening and treatment services that have been introduced to ensure babies at risk of the avoidable condition receive the timely treatment they need to prevent blindness.
Sophie will meet with leading eye health professionals who have been instrumental in setting up and delivering the services, and parents and children who have, or have had, the condition.
The royal will see the work the charitable foundation has supported to tackle avoidable blindness in babies born prematurely and will also hear about the impact of programmes successfully launched by Queen’s Young Leaders. She is seen in India in 2013
In Mumbai, Sophie will visit a school where she will meet Queen’s Young Leader, Deane de Menezes, whose project ‘Red is the new Green’ aims to destigmatise menstruation, improve access to menstrual hygiene and ultimately prevent female absenteeism in schools.
Sophie will also visit a health centre where Her Royal Highness will meet Queen’s Young Leader Aditya Kulkarni whose pioneering ‘Care Mother’ antenatal app has helped to reduce maternal and child mortality rates in India.
The royal will conclude the visit by attending a reception celebrating a cross-section of remarkable women living and working in India.
The Queen Elizabeth Diamond Jubilee Trust is a time-limited charitable foundation, established in 2012, to mark and celebrate the Queen’s 60-year contribution to the Commonwealth at the time of Her Majesty’s Diamond Jubilee.
Last month the Countess of Wessex joined blindness prevention charity Orbis UK to mark the launch of the See My Future Appeal
The Trust works in alliance towards eliminating avoidable blindness and to empower a new generation of young leaders.
To enable the Trust to make a tangible and sustainable difference in the name of The Queen within five years, its programmes have focused on tackling three major causes of preventable sight loss – blindness caused by trachoma, the world’s leading infectious cause of blindness; blindness caused by diabetes; and blindness affecting premature babies.
Every year 60 exceptional young leaders were chosen each year from across the Commonwealth to become Queen’s Young Leaders, with the last cohort awarded this honour by The Queen in 2018 in recognition of the remarkable changes they had brought about to improve people’s lives.
The Trust will close, as planned, on 31st January 2020.
