Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

Sophie inspects medals and speaks to military veteran in Saint Lucia

The countess was joined by her husband, the Earl of Wessex, on a day of two engagements.

Josh Payne
Tuesday 26 April 2022 21:47 EDT
Countess of Wessex arriving with Earl of Wessex (not pictured) at the High Commissioners residence, St Lucia, as they continue their visit to the Caribbean, to mark the Queenā€™s Platinum Jubilee. Picture date: Tuesday April 26, 2022.
Countess of Wessex arriving with Earl of Wessex (not pictured) at the High Commissioners residence, St Lucia, as they continue their visit to the Caribbean, to mark the Queenā€™s Platinum Jubilee. Picture date: Tuesday April 26, 2022. (PA Wire)

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

The Countess of Wessex inspected medals and heard stories from a 100-year-old Commonwealth military veteran on a day of two engagements in Saint Lucia.

Sophie and the Earl of Wessex had been due to travel to Grenada on Tuesday but the trip to the country was postponed just a day before they were due to begin their Caribbean tour.

Speaking to Haynes Cyril, the President of the Royal Commonwealth ex-Services League, the countess heard about the centenarianā€™s time as part of the Winward Island Battalion in the Caribbean regiment, which he joined in 1943.

Another veteran sat at the same table at the high commissionerā€™s residence, 98-year-old Reginald Cherubin, asked Edward for his name, to which the earl laughed and replied ā€œPrince Edwardā€.

Wearing another floral dress, the countess leant in towards Mr Cyril to look closely at his medals.

The visit came at a time when the couple were due to be in Grenada, but Buckingham Palace released a note to editors on Thursday which read: ā€œIn consultation with the government of Grenada and on the advice of the governor general, the Earl and Countess of Wessexā€™s visit to Grenada has been postponed.

ā€œThe earl and countess hope to visit at a later date.ā€

No further details were given about the reason for the delay, and the decision came shortly after the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge were criticised for some elements of their recent Caribbean tour, deemed to hark back to colonial days.

Earlier, anti-monarchy campaigners said Edwardā€™s ā€œdisinterestā€ in reparations for Caribbean nations was ā€œan insult to Britain as much as it isā€ to the islands themselves.

Republicans criticised Edward after he gave a nervous laugh following remarks from the Prime Minister of Antigua and Barbuda, who urged him and the Countess of Wessex to use their ā€œdiplomatic influenceā€ to achieve ā€œreparatory justiceā€ for the country.

The groupā€™s chief executive, Graham Smith accused him of not being ā€œinterested in engaging sincerely with those they visitā€.

Edward joked that he had not been taking notes during Gaston Browneā€™s opening remarks, so could not respond to all the points he had made.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in