Duchess of Edinburgh vows to keep 'banging drum' for women’s rights on visit to Nepal

Highlighting the plight of abused women astir the satellite successful caller years, the duchess said she would proceed to usage her presumption arsenic a elder royal to item their suffering and run for change

The Duchess of Edinburgh has vowed to support “banging the drum” for women’s rights during a sojourn to Nepal.

Sophie spoke to survivors of trafficking and gender-based unit past week astatine a foundation besides visited by King Charles successful 1998.

Highlighting the plight of abused women astir the world successful caller years, the duchess said she would proceed to usage her presumption arsenic a elder royal to item their suffering and run for change.

In an interrogation with UK media connected their six time sojourn to the country, Sophie and her hubby Prince Edward, some 60, besides revealed the concealed to their palmy concern is down to being “best friends”.

After visiting Maiti Nepal, an organisation Charles sold a coating to rise funds and assistance them bargain further onshore to grow the harmless location astir 30 years ago, Sophie said her relation was to basal up for those with “very small voice”.

She said: “So often, women often are excluded oregon astatine the atrocious extremity of the deal. “Unfortunately women are affected the astir erstwhile determination are hard issues to woody with.

“If radical successful my presumption don’t champion radical similar that, they person precise small voice.

“It’s not an casual taxable but it’s important that radical are alert of it. I deliberation they person go much alert of it. Unfortunately due to the fact that successful immoderate of the much caller conflicts that person happened, radical person truly woken up to the information that these are truly precise existent issues. Historically, they’ve ever been there.

“But it’s been hard for them to person a voice. And to alteration behaviours you person to support banging the drum. So I support connected banging the drum.”

Sophie has been a passionate protagonist of women and championing sex equality passim her royal life.

In caller years she has travelled to countries including Kosovo, Lebanon, South Sudan and Sierre Leone, to perceive to first-hand accounts from survivors of intersexual unit during struggle successful their countries.

The mates said they had been welcomed with unfastened arms during their archetypal sojourn to the country, wherever they joined successful the royal contented of planting trees and became the archetypal royals to be a Gurkha passing retired parade.

Edward said: “It’s been a fantastic accidental and we’ve been made to consciousness staggeringly welcome. I mean, the Nepalese are delightful radical and precise friendly. And I cognize we’re lone seeing a comparatively tiny portion of the state but it’s been fascinating truly knowing the extent of the narration betwixt the 2 countries and conscionable however important it is and however we've had specified a beardown narration for specified a agelong time.”

Sophie said it was important for their sojourn “to reenforce that relationship that goes backmost implicit truthful galore years”.

The Duke and Duchess besides paid tribute to the indomitable tone of Nepal’s Gurkha regiment.

They made past past week by becoming the royals to be the yearly Gurkha attestation parade, a landmark infinitesimal for young Nepalis joining the British army.

Sophie said she became “emotional” arsenic the recruits swore allegiance to the King, a infinitesimal she described arsenic “beautiful”.

She added: “That infinitesimal erstwhile the recently formed Ghurkhas soldiers came guardant and swore allegiance to the King, and lasting down those tables, I recovered it truly emotional. It was conscionable watching their eyes. They came up, evidently they were trying to bash their champion and contiguous themselves successful the champion way, but that infinitesimal that they placed their hands connected the array and looked astatine the picture.

“You could truly spot the intent successful their eyes. It was precise existent and precise tangible. I recovered it rather an affectional day. We ever emotion the Gurkhas. Whenever you spot them, you conscionable say, ‘They’re the Ghurkhas.’ And you cognize however nonrecreational they are and however overmuch it means to them and their families to go a Gurkha. But past to spot the grounds of that contiguous encapsulated successful contiguous arsenic they swore allegiance to the King was beautiful.”

The mates besides remarked however their palmy concern was based connected being “best friends” and enjoying the occupation with added “humour”.

In existent royal fashion, the mates attended a histrion planting ceremonial astatine the aforesaid spot wherever the precocious Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip besides planted shrubs galore years ago.

The brace joked that determination was immoderate “competition” among the royals to spot who is doing best.

Sophie said: “Well, the archetypal happening we ever cheque is that the trees are doing truly well. It’s a spot of a contention betwixt the 2 of america erstwhile we works a tree, whose past does amended implicit the years.”