The Countess of Wessex has been getting a lot of coverage lately—which is awesome. Yesterday, Sophie visited Frimley Park Hospital where she nearly died giving birth to Lady Louise in 2003. Sophie suffered a placental abruption at 36 weeks which caused her to lose a lot of blood. Marcus Setchell delivered her via an emergency cesarean one month early. Lady Louise was taken to St George’s Hospital’s neonatal unit in London for two weeks.
Sophie was at the hospital to open the new neonatal unit. It was the first time she had been back since she gave birth to her son, James, Viscount Severn, in 2007. The unit was funded by the Frimley Park Hospital Charity’s Saving Tiny Lives Appeal.
Sophie hugged the head of midwifery who helped deliver her children. She also met parents and babies in the unit, and gave a speech at a reception attended by hospital staff.
In her speech, Sophie said: “Thank you for inviting me here, it is good to be back in happier circumstances. On behalf of the thousands of families you have helped I would like to say thank you and congratulations on raising the money for this fantastic facility. The service you provide is paramount and can literally make the difference between life and death, I can attest to that. It is rare to have the opportunity to thank people for the huge difference they have made at an important time in your life so I am so pleased to be here and to be able to say thank you in person.”
Sophie broke down in tears during her speech. At which point all the photographers put down their cameras out of respect, only raising them once she had gained her composure. What a lovely thing for them to do. I can’t even imagine how much emotion Sophie would have been feeling being back there. I get teary thinking about Sophie’s tears.
I think it’s wonderful that Sophie opened the new neonatal unit at the hospital where her children were born and that saved her life. It’s so much more meaningful.
As for fashion, Sophie wore a Valentino Pink Wool Drill Cocoon jacket ($2450), a Roland Mouret Benwell dress ($2369), and Jimmy Choo pumps (~$500). She also wore citrine earrings which I love (yellow is my favorite color).
Links: FP Hospital’s article. Express article. Telegraph article. Daily Mail article. Frimley Park Twitter and Facebook for some cool photos. HRH Countess of Wessex Blog.
she is the real deal, this woman would have made a superb queen love her!
The more I see of Sophie the more I like her. Unlike the rest of the RF she does not seem to be all me, me, me. While I am sure she enjoys the perks of being royal, at least she does not rub it in everyone’s face. Sophie seems able to relate and connect with people. Anne always seems so sour and Kate clearly loses interest after the first 2 minutes. Keep up the good work Sophie!
Anne seems like a ass. I read once where she criticized the people who gather at the church on Christmas to see the royals and give flowers. Such a jerk. They wait for hours and are all excited only to have Anne come and ruin their day. Philip is like that, too. He’s a straight up racist jackass.
Agree with comments. Sophie gets on with her royal duties in a quiet and dignified manner. It was obviously not easy to revisit Frimley Park Hospital. I thought she did fantastic. She is out there making a difference and putting a little sunshine out there. I don’t think she gets the recognition for what she does. She has become more confident in her role. You can tell by the contact she had with staff and patients- the little babies the look she had in eyes, she was clearly in her element. She also looks immaculately dressed from head to toe. Her clothes look lovely on her as she has lovely posture and a good figure, she is not starved looking. Well done Sophie, keep it up, you are appreciated.
P.S love the review page, thank you.
You can really tell Sophie cares. When she’s talking to kids, she bends all the way down to get on their level, doesn’t just lean over to talk to them.
Sophie speaks from her heart too! Unlike KM, she doesn’t look at her notes or use a prompter when making a speech during her visits to her charities.
BTW love your blog!