The King’s encounter with a rain storm in Antigua has attracted global attention after he was left looking for an umbrella as the heavens opened.
But while Charles III was capturing headlines as he was soaked to the skin (and kept on with his duties even though the conditions were terrible despite the now famous lack of a brolly), another royal was also taking part in a significant event in Antigua.
The Court Circular announced that the Duchess of Edinburgh arrived in the country on November 1 and immediately attended an event for a cause close to her heart.
Sophie has travelled to the Caribbean in her role as a Global Ambassador for the International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness.
Her first engagement in Antigua saw her attend a reception which took place at Northshore Seaside Suites.
The International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness is taking part in the first ever Global Summit for Eye Health which is being hosted by the government of Antigua and Barbuda.
The summit comes as the country also welcomes leaders from around the world for the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting.
The presence of so many high level leaders in the country ties in with the aim of the Global Summit for Eye Health which was set up to attract and retain high level political interest at all levels in the many issues involved in ensuring strong ocular health across society.
Ahead of the Summit beginning, the CEO of the International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness, Dominic Haslam, said ”My gut feeling is that we’ll see this as a game-changing moment, where the people and organisations involved in a very effective but disconnected set of initiatives and interventions become a global community, rooted in national political leadership, with a clear focus on eye health for everyone, everywhere.”
The Duchess of Edinburgh has been an advocate of eye health for many years with her interest strengthened after her daughter, Lady Louise Mountbatten-Windsor, was born with sight issues that were corrected during a number of operations and which are now fully resolved.
On the day that Sophie began her trip, her brother in law found himself battling the elements. King Charles was watching an Independence Day parade in Antigua when a sudden downpour became torrential and he was left without shelter or an umbrella. After looking for a brolly, he kept his place on the dais and watched the parade in sheeting rain before finally getting an umbrella ahead of inspecting a Guard of Honour.
