Edward and Sophie to embark on royal tour to Himalayan nation of Nepal
The Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh are making an official royal tour to Nepal this week.
Edward and Sophie are set to arrive in the South Asian country on Tuesday for a six-day stay to celebrate its close ties with the UK.
Sophie, who celebrated her milestone 60th birthday a fortnight ago, and her husband, the King’s youngest brother, will also attend the Attestation Parade for new Gurkha recruits at the British Gurkha Camp in the lakeside city of Pokhara.
It marks young Nepali service personnel formally joining the British Army, and celebrates the long tradition of collaboration between the two nations.
During their stay, the Edinburghs will also meet organisations providing healthcare services and support to survivors of trafficking and gender-based violence.
Sophie is a champion of the UN’s Women, Peace and Security Agenda, and in October, during a trip to Malta, took part in a discussion with members of Malta’s police force and human rights directorate about supporting victims of human trafficking.
The couple will meet young people taking part in the Duke of Edinburgh International Award, and women’s rights activists and those campaigning for a more equal and inclusive society.
Buckingham Palace said: “The visit will celebrate the close ties between the UK and Nepal, and reinforce shared interests including youth opportunity, healthcare, equality for women and girls, and conservation and biodiversity.”
The King visited Nepal in 1998, as Prince of Wales, and his and Edward’s parents Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, the late Duke of Edinburgh, travelled there in 1986.
The late Queen and Philip also visited Nepal in 1961, when they both rode on elephants to watch a tiger shoot arranged for them by King Mahendra of Nepal in a jungle near Kathmandu.
Philip was unable to join in with the shoot because of an infected finger.
But the last major royal visit to the now-republic was by the Duke of Sussex.
The-then Prince Harry made an official trip to Nepal in 2016 to mark the bicentenary of the Nepal-UK relationship – four years before he stepped down as a senior working royal.
Edward and Sophie’s overseas tour takes place from February 4 to February 9.