Beautiful in white! Duchess of Edinburgh opens building for Royal National Institute of Blind People
Beautiful in white! The Duchess of Edinburgh is elegant in a shirt dress as she proudly opens a new building for the Royal National Institute of Blind People
The Duchess of Edinburgh looked effortlessly elegant as she opened a new building for the Royal National Institute of Blind People.
The 58-year-old royal family wore a sophisticated white shirt dress today for the engagement in Islington, north London.
The mother-of-two tightened her waist with a dainty white leather belt and added a splash of color to her ensemble with a bright orange handbag.
Sophie wore her blonde hair straight and opted for minimal jewelry as she braved the 27-degree heat.
The stylish royal wore brown smoky eye shadow and finished off her make-up with some pink lipstick.
The Duchess of Edinburgh, 58, unveiled a new plaque to mark the opening of the new Royal National Institute of Blind People building
During the engagement, Sophie was given a tour of the charity’s new premises.
She also proudly unveiled a plaque marking the building’s official opening.
The late Queen, who passed away in September at the age of 96, had been a patron of the charity for 70 years.
The royal family worked closely with the charity after her accession to the throne in 1952, when she was only 25 years old.
In addition, Sophie has been a staunch campaigner for vision loss, as her daughter Lady Louise Windsor, 19, was born with a severe squint that affected her eyesight.
The Duchess previously shared how she was moved by her daughter’s vision problems to campaign on behalf of blind and partially sighted people around the world.
Prince Edward’s daughter Louise was born prematurely in 2003, causing a condition called strabismus that left her with what the Countess described as a “deep” strabismus.
She has since had the problem corrected because it was cosmetically inconvenient for her, Sophie said, and she can see well now.
She told the Sunday express in 2015: ‘Premature babies can often squint because the eyes are the last thing in the baby package that is really completed.’
Pictured: Sophie accepts a bouquet of flowers as she arrives at the engagement in London this afternoon
Pictured: The Duchess of Edinburgh is taken on a tour of the building. The late Queen, who passed away in September at the age of 96, had been a patron of the charity for 70 years.
Sophie has been a staunch campaigner for vision loss as her daughter Lady Louise Windsor, 19, was born with a severe squint that affected her eyesight
“She squinted when she was little and it takes time to correct it. You have to make sure one eye doesn’t become more dominant than the other, but she’s fine now – her eyesight is perfect.’
As Patron of Vision 2020: The Right to Sight and Global Ambassador for the International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness, the Duchess has seen firsthand the difference organizations with the right knowledge, experience and funding can make on a global scale.
Since 2003 she has been a Global Ambassador for the International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness (IAPB).
In 2013, she visited Orbis’ flying hospital program in India and Qatar to address global issues surrounding preventable childhood blindness and the need for funding for eye health programs.
Earlier this week, royal commentator Richard Fitzwilliams told FEMAIL that Sophie is proving she is ‘indispensable’ to Kate and William thanks to ‘natural warmth and calm approach’.