The Duchess of Edinburgh has matched Princess Anne in completing the highest number of overseas work trips this year, with both royals visiting nine countries in 2024.
While both royal women led the family’s international engagements, Princess Anne covered more distance, accumulating nearly 42,000 air miles compared to Sophie’s 28,500.
Prince Edward followed closely behind the pair with visits to eight countries.
Patricia Treble, author of the Write Royalty newsletter, praised Sophie’s growing role and claims she is “fully trusted by the Royal Family and the UK government”.
The Duchess of Edinburgh has matched Princess Anne for completing the highest number of overseas work trips this year
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She said: “We know that Princess Anne is hard working, but the Duchess proved she was ‘Super Sophie’ in 2024.”
The increased international presence of both women came during a year when other senior royals faced serious health challenges, limiting their overseas engagements.
“In a year when senior royals had serious health challenges, Sophie and Anne were the royal women leading on the world stage,” Treble noted.
Sophie’s most notable trip included a groundbreaking visit to Ukraine in April, becoming the first Royal Family member to visit the war-torn nation since Putin’s invasion.
During her Ukraine visit, she met with President Volodymyr Zelensky and First Lady Olena Zelenska, addressing crucial issues including sexual violence in war.
The duchess also made history as the first royal to officially visit Chad in central Africa, a trip kept secret by the Foreign Office for security reasons.
In Tanzania, she worked as a global ambassador for the International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness.
Her Ethiopian visit included meetings with sexual violence victims and visits to refugee camps.
The duchess also travelled to Malta to mark 60 years of independence from the United Kingdom.
Prince William visited three countries, with his furthest journey being to South Africa for his Earthshot prize
PA
“The seriousness of Sophie’s trips to Ukraine and Chad show she is fully trusted by the Royal Family and the UK government,” Treble commented.
Princess Anne’s extensive travels included visits to Sri Lanka, Namibia, and the United Arab Emirates in the first quarter of the year.
The Princess Royal also visited Canada and Norway in May, followed by trips to the Netherlands, Isle of Man and Ireland, alongside several visits to France.
Queen Camilla completed visits to six overseas nations, while King Charles travelled to five, including a significant autumn tour of Australia and Samoa in October.
Prince William visited three countries, with his furthest journey being to South Africa for his Earthshot prize, whilst the Princess of Wales did not undertake any overseas work this year as she stepped back from royal duties following announcement in March that she was diagnosed with cancer.
