The Countess of Wessex and the Princess Royal have teamed up for a rare joint engagement, visiting the Westmorland County Show.
On Instagram, the Westmorland County Show shared a snap of the royal sisters-in-law, captioning it with: “double royal visit” and sharing their delight that they were able to welcome Sophie and Anne to the event on September 9th 2021.
The Westmorland County Show has been hosted for 222 years, showcasing the best of rural life while also offering businesses a platform to enhance their trade. In 2020, to comply with pandemic restrictions, the organisation offered an ‘alternative’ county show with live and video components.
During their visit, Sophie and Anne toured the showfield to meet with the public, exhibitors, farmers. They also jointly unveiled a plaque and toured the various animal areas including the ‘equine village’, sheep pens, cattle marquee and watched the dog show.
Sophie and Anne also spoke with many of the charitable organisations who take part in the Westmorland County Show. During the visit, Anne attended the Society’s annual general meeting.
Finally, the sisters-in-law helped celebrate the Westmorland County Agricultural Society, which hosts the show, as the organisation recently won the Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service.
Upon receiving the award earlier in the summer, chairperson Lisa Bennett said in a statement on the organisation’s website that the Society is “absolutely delighted that the passion, enthusiasm, commitment and sheer hard work of all our volunteers has been recognised in this way. The award is a wonderful recognition of the dedication of all those who are, and have been, involved with the Society, many of whom have served the Show and our wider activities for countless years.”
Sophie is patron of the Association of Shows and Agricultural Organisations, and has visited the Westmorland County Show three times over the years. Anne is President of the Royal Agricultural Society of the Commonwealth (an organisation started by her father in 1957).
