Prince Edward and Sophie Wessex spent time volunteering at a homeless charity last week – days after Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s Oprah Winfrey interview caused shockwaves across the globe.
The Countess, 56, cut a casual figure in a navy blue jumper and red facemask as she joined the Earl, 57, at the York Road Project, which is a charity providing support and accommodation to those experiencing homelessness in Woking.
A series of snaps were posted to their Twitter page, alongside a caption which read: ‘A huge thank you to the Earl and Countess of Wessex for joining us at our temporary facility in HG Wells conference centre, Woking.’
It marks the couple’s first joint engagement since the bombshell interview, where Meghan claimed that an unnamed royal – not the Queen or Duke of Edinburgh – raised concerns about Archie being ‘too brown.’
Prince Edward and Sophie Wessex spent time volunteering at a homeless charity last week – days after Prince Harry and Meghan Markle ‘s Oprah Winfrey interview caused shockwaves across the globe
There has been much speculation about which member of the royal family they were accusing of racism.
But during the interview the couple would not be drawn on who had deeply offended them.
Harry said: ‘That conversation, I am never going to share. At the time it was awkward, I was a bit shocked.’
But living up to her stoic reputation, Sophie quietly returned to work and could be seen sorting through large paper bags and breaking an egg into a mixing bowl.
In the photographs, which marked the couple’s first joint appearance since the bombshell interview, Prince Edward could be seen rolling out dough for ginger biscuits
According to the charity, the couple volunteered preparing lunchtime snacks and helped to pack weekly goody bags for their clients
Meanwhile snaps of Prince Edward show the Earl using a rolling pin to flatten dough for ginger biscuits.
Sharing images on their website, the charity posted: ‘The Earl and Countess volunteered in the kitchen preparing lunchtime snacks for the clients which included banana muffins, sausage rolls, cheese and onion twists and ginger biscuits.
‘Their Royal Highnesses joined staff and volunteers to pack the weekly goody bags for the clients.
‘These contain varying items (depending on current donations) but include fruit, snacks, toiletries and the necessities to make hot drinks.
During the bombshell interview, Harry accused an unnamed member of his family of racism and said the lack of support he and his wife received from the other royals was behind their decision to quit the UK
‘They then had an opportunity to speak with staff and fellow volunteers.’
Since the start of the pandemic the charity has continued to work to support those who are homeless or at risk of homelessness in Woking and surrounding areas.
The organisation set up in Wells Conference Centre in March 2020, supporting over 170 individual clients, taking in couples and those with dogs so that no one rough slept.
Sophie has been at the forefront of the royal family’s response to the ongoing pandemic and was previously hailed as a ‘royal key worker’ for her volunteering work.
The couple’s volunteering efforts come just days after an impassioned Prince William publicly hit back against Harry and Meghan’s racism claims, insisting, ‘We’re very much not a racist family’.
The Duke of Cambridge was the first royal to personally respond to the allegation during his first royal engagement since the Oprah interview last week.
He also revealed that he has not spoken to his brother since it came out, but added that he ‘will do’.
It was also the first engagement for Kate since she was accused by Meghan of making her cry in the bombshell tell-all chat.
Previously, it was believed it was Meghan who had made Kate cry during a row over bridesmaids’ dresses.
Meghan said: ‘She (Kate) was upset about something, but she owned it, and she apologised. And she brought me flowers’.
During the Oprah interview, Meghan also revealed details about their strained relationship, saying of pictures of them laughing at Wimbledon, ‘Nothing is what it looks like.’
She added that Kate being called ‘waity Katie’ in the press couldn’t compare to the alleged racism she faced.
Meghan also made allegations that she felt suicidal and turned to the palace for help.
The Duchess of Sussex told Oprah she ‘couldn’t be left alone’ and told her husband she ‘didn’t want to be alive anymore’ before claiming the Buckingham Palace HR department ignored her plea for help because she wasn’t a ‘paid employee’.
Describing how she considered ending her life believing it ‘was better for everyone’, Meghan said:
‘I knew that if I didn’t say it, that I would do it. I just didn’t want to be alive anymore.
‘And that was a very clear and real and frightening constant thought. I remember how he just cradled me. I said that I needed to go somewhere to get help.
‘I said that ‘I’ve never felt this way before, and I need to go somewhere’. And I was told that I couldn’t, that it wouldn’t be good for the institution’.
She said that after confiding in her husband, she was forced to go to the Royal Albert Hall for a charity event in January 2019, claiming photos from that night ‘haunt me’.
She told Oprah she later reached out to one of the best friends of Diana, Princess of Wales, because she felt unsupported by the palace.
She said: ‘When I joined that family, that was the last time I saw my passport, my driving licence, my keys – all of that gets turned over’.
Meghan said Harry had ‘saved my life’ by agreeing to move to Los Angeles.
During the broadcast, Prince Harry hinted at the extent of the alleged rift between the two brothers, claiming that their relationship was now ‘space,’ but added he hoped time would be a healer.
He went on to claim he was ‘on different paths’ to William and spoke about his brother was ‘trapped’ in the Royal Family.
Harry also said he felt ‘very let down’ by his father Prince Charles, accusing him of refusing to take his calls and and then ‘cut him off’ financially when they emigrated.
He said: ‘My father and brother. They’re both trapped’ and added that his mother Diana would be ‘angry and sad’ that he felt he had to leave the royal family, but ‘she saw it coming’.
Harry said: ‘All she’d ever want for us is to be happy’, adding that his wife had ‘saved me’, declaring:
‘I myself was trapped, as well. I didn’t see a way out’.
The Queen broke her silence on the interview on Tuesday, voicing her ‘concern’ over the issues raised, ‘particularly that of race’, although the statement added that ‘some recollections may vary’.