The Duchess of Edinburgh is no stranger to charitable causes. This Christmas, Sophie rolled up her sleeves and served lunch to Ukrainian refugees, and earlier last year, she visited Colombia to champion women impacted by war. Prince Edward's wife isn't afraid to truly get stuck in and give her all to causes close to her heart.
Nowhere is this displayed more clearly than in her patronage of the DEBRA UK charity — an organisation committed to raising awareness of a rare skin condition called epidermolysis bullosa, also known as EB, and providing invaluable support to those living with the condition. Sophie has been patron of the charity since 2011, taking over from Diana, Princess of Wales.
We sat down with Lindsey Puddifant, Head of PR for the DEBRA charity, to learn more about her first-hand experiences with Duchess Sophie behind closed doors.
Lindsey first met Sophie during a lunch at St James's Palace. She recalled that the Duchess immediately exuded kindness and authenticity from the moment they met. "She's so incredibly warm. She's so down-to-earth and approachable," Lindsey exclusively told HELLO! "She's so lovely with members, adult members or children of the charity, and just very happy to chat. She's very kind and very considerate, she knows loads about the condition."
In all the years that Lindsey has gotten to know Sophie, no moment stands out more prominently than a speech that she gave during a fundraising lunch in the lead-up to a charity swim of the English Channel. Graeme Sounness, Scottish former footballer and vice president of the charity, would be braving the treacherous swim with a group from the special forces.
"Sophie gave a speech and she was so warm and funny about the challenge that Graeme was taking on, because obviously it was no mean feat to swim 30 miles of the English Channel," Lindsey explained.
According to Lindsey, Graeme is deeply moved whenever he is in the company of people living with EB, and Sophie responded with a true show of empathy. "She was so kind to him when he was very clearly emotional about it, and when she spoke, it was witty conversation about how she wouldn't wish to do something quite as daring as swimming in the English Channel with all the jellyfish and it being one of the busiest shipping lanes in the world."
© GettyLindsey explained that this particular moment epitomised Sophie's kind and caring nature. "She was just very natural and highly intelligent, and that obviously really comes across in the way that she speaks to people because she can empathise as well as sympathise. She has that compassion, which is so lovely."
In another memorable exchange, Lindsey recalled the response that Sophie's presence elicited from other charity members. During an event last November at St James's Palace, a little boy called Ben, one of the charity's members, "rushed up to the Duchess and wrapped his arms around her legs and she bent down and gave him a proper cuddle and it was absolutely lovely." According to Lindsey, it was clear "just how special it was for him and for the family".
In Ben's own words, the experience of meeting Sophie was a heartfelt one that immediately put him at ease. "When we arrived at the palace, I felt a bit nervous because the police were holding massive guns. It was top security, we had to show our passports to get in," he said. "The Duchess of Edinburgh came to see us all and I told her about my EB and how I help out at our local charity shop to make money for DEBRA. She was very kind and cared a lot about DEBRA."
© DEBRA UKLindsey explained just how meaningful Sophie's contribution to the charity is in real terms. "Because she's so understanding, compassionate and empathetic about it, she knows how to reach people with that level of awareness of the condition and the charity. It makes such a difference to us because she's so generous with her time and efforts."
According to Lindsey, the Duchess clearly demonstrated her passion for the organisation when she made ambitious suggestions to raise the profile of the charity. "Two years ago, she actually challenged us to go bigger, to really branch out and really try and do a big fundraising appeal and she challenged us with a £5million target."
She continued: "We took her up on that challenge so by December last year, December just gone, we reached our £5 million target for the year.
"She inspired us to do it and have the confidence to do it and she attended events for us so that we had opportunities to really raise that profile. When we've got the Duchess of Edinburgh on board, then people more often than not take more notice, don't they?"
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