Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh, Travels to Ukraine to Meet With Survivors of Sexual Violence

On Monday, Sophie, the Duchess of Edinburgh, took a surprise trip to Ukraine, where she continued her work as an advocate raising awareness of sexual violence during wartime. The duchess traveled at the request of the UK’s Foreign, Development, and Commonwealth Office, who has supported her previous work on the issue.

During the trip, she met with President Volodymyr Zelensky and his wife, Olena Zelenska and traveled to St. Andrews Church in Bucha, where she lit a candle to honor victims of the war. At a dinner hosted by Martin Harris, the UK’s ambassador to Ukraine, she met with survivors of sexual violence and children who were forcefully separated from their parents at the beginning of the war.

“Women and girls pay the highest price in terms of human costs,” she said during the event, per the BBC. “Rape is used to demean, to degrade and to destroy.”

In a statement, Buckingham Palace announced that the visit was intended “to demonstrate solidarity with the women, men, and children impacted by the war and in a continuation of her work to champion survivors of conflict-related sexual violence.” The palace added that Sophie also delivered a message from King Charles III during her meeting with Zelensky.

Sophie got involved in advocacy on the subject following a 2018 event with Angelina Jolie for the Preventing Sexual Violence in Conflict Initiative, a group the actor founded alongside former UK foreign secretary William Hague to raise awareness and fight stigma associated with wartime sexual violence. In March 2019, Sophie began working with the UN through their Women, Peace, and Security agenda to work on the issue. In the years since, she has visited countries including Kosovo, South Sudan, and Afghanistan to meet with survivors and fellow advocates.

The trip makes Sophie the first member of the royal family to visit Ukraine since the onset of war in February 2022. In the years since Russia’s invasion, the royals have been strong supporters of Ukraine and have hosted Zelensky at the palace on multiple occasions. In March 2023, Prince William made the first royal visit to the region with a trip to Poland, where he spoke to Ukrainian refugees who fled the fighting in their home country.