Royal family makes new statement about Duchess Sophie's key royal role

Buckingham Palace has shared new photos of Duchess Sophie with a latest statement as she visited Tanzania this week, in her capacity as Global Ambassador for the International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness.

The Duchess of Edinburgh, who landed in Tanzania for the first royal visit to the country since 2018, was welcomed by the British High Commissioner a she's there to strengthen the partnerships on health, agricultural and women’s issues.

Paying tribute to the key royal, the royal family's social media accounts shared her photos with an important statement about her role and engagement in the country.

The statement read: "The Duchess of Edinburgh is in Tanzania this week, in her capacity as Global Ambassador for the International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness (@IAPB)."

It continued: "Her Royal Highness visited a trachoma outreach camp at Mlandizi Health Centre, where she saw trachoma screenings and surgery and heard more about progress made to rid the country of the infectious and blinding disease."

Prince Edward's wife Sophie has set the ambition for the elimination of trachoma across the Commonwealth by 2030 and, earlier in the week, delivered a short message from The King commending the ongoing efforts:

As per medical experts, Trachoma is an ancient disease which turns eyelashes inwards so that they scrape the eye permanently blind.  People have described the pain similar to having thorns, grit or sand constantly in their eyes. If left untreated, repeated infections can lead to permanent blindness.