Each year The Countess of Wessex takes on a full range of engagements in support of The Queen and on behalf of the charities and organisations with which she is associated.
There is no such thing as a typical day for Her Royal Highness, and her calendar of engagements will differ according to where she is in the UK, overseas or accompanying her husband on official duties.
Below is a summary of a recent week in the UK:
Monday
In the office to catch up on paperwork, agree the outline of some future visits and diary planning. Meeting with Private Secretary to discuss forthcoming events, draft speech for forthcoming engagement.
Tuesday
Depart Reading train station for a day of engagements in Bristol and Gloucestershire including visiting The Oasis Academy as Patron of Dyslexia Action, and officially open Cots for Tots at St Michael’s Hospital.
Wednesday
Depart for London to attend a Duke of Edinburgh Award Women in Business briefing followed by a Women in Business Committee meeting. Subsequently attend the Childline Annual Council meeting.
Thursday
Office based for Quarterly Planning meeting.
Friday
Attend all day event at Ascot for the Wessex Youth Trust.
Outline of a typical short overseas programme:
The Earl and Countess of Wessex visited Prague from 12-14 March 2013 to help reinforce the bilateral relationship between the UK and the Czech Republic, promote the United Kingdom overseas and The Duke of Edinburgh Award.
The first engagement for The Earl and Countess was a call on the newly inaugurated President Zenman at Prague Castle. During the meeting with The President and his wife, Their Royal Highnesses presented a letter of congratulations on his election from The Queen and were treated to a rare glimpse inside Prague Castle.
The Earl and Countess went on to Lobkowicz Castle to view the Lobkowicz collection. The collection includes the famous Antonio Canaletto painting ‘The Thames on Lord Mayor’s Day’ which inspired the Thames River Pageant celebrating The Queen’s Diamond Jubilee. That evening Their Royal Highnesses joined senior Czech public figures at a dinner hosted by The British Ambassador.
The programme also included events promoting British food, drink and high end retail as part of the launch of the British Embassy’s 2013 GREAT Britain campaign. The GREAT campaign promotes the United Kingdom as a place to visit, invest and do business in.
The Earl and Countess of Wessex visited a school and free time facility for disabled children, where, as well as seeing some of the 200 clients that benefit from the preschool and school facilities, rehabilitation centre and sports club, they met some Paralympians who are former pupils of the school. They also met staff and residents at the Sue Ryder Care home, established in 1998 to provide dignified care to elderly frail people.
Their Royal Highnesses’ presence at a rehearsal of 'The King’s Speech' at a leading repertory theatre in the city centre highlighted Czech interest in British Royal heritage and Czech artistic tradition.
The Duke of Edinburgh’s International Award events included a Gold award ceremony at the beautiful Cerninsky Palace, a visit to The British Prague School who run a very successful DofE programme, and a gala dinner to promote the Award in the Czech Republic.
