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.
![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 Queenās Platinum Jubilee. Picture date: Tuesday April 26, 2022.](https://static.the-independent.com/2022/04/27/00/1ae6b720e3e4d29d8ecdc8dc1cb63c69Y29udGVudHNlYXJjaGFwaSwxNjUxMTAxMzg0-2.66581139.jpg)
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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 centenarianās 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 commissionerās residence, 98-year-old Reginald Cherubin, asked Edward for his name, to which the earl laughed and replied āPrince 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: āIn consultation with the government of Grenada and on the advice of the governor general, the Earl and Countess of Wessexās visit to Grenada has been postponed.
āThe 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 Edwardās ādisinterestā in reparations for Caribbean nations was āan 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 ādiplomatic influenceā to achieve āreparatory justiceā for the country.
The groupās chief executive, Graham Smith accused him of not being āinterested in engaging sincerely with those they visitā.
Edward joked that he had not been taking notes during Gaston Browneās opening remarks, so could not respond to all the points he had made.