Duchess Sophie is all smiles in striking new 60th birthday portrait taken inside family home
Laughing joyfully as she leans against a window in her beautiful Bagshot Park home, the Duchess of Edinburgh looks truly ageless in a stunning new image shared to mark her 60th birthday.
Sophie, who celebrates her milestone on 20 January, is seen wearing an elegant black sweater and cream pleated skirt with delicate gold jewellery in this shot by fashion and portrait photographer Christina Ebenezer.
Known for championing women and girls, the Duchess chose Nigeria-born, London-based Christina because she was interested in her creative style of photography and wanted to support a rising female photographer.
Sophie is said to have "a renewed sense of excitement and commitment" to her work around gender equality in the years to come, according to royal sources.
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The Duchess is expected to spend her special day relaxing privately with her husband the Duke, receiving birthday wishes from her daughter Lady Louise Windsor, 21 – currently studying at the University of St Andrews – and her son James, Earl of Wessex, 17, who boards at a school in Oxfordshire.
"She doesn't want to make a big fuss about it," a friend tells HELLO!"She doesn't see this as a big moment."
Sophie's approach to turning 60 reflects the way she approaches her public work – often without the fanfare usually associated with a royal engagement.
"Like the late Queen, she puts duty and responsibility before herself and is never one to seek the limelight," Ailsa Anderson, former communications secretary to Queen Elizabeth II, tells us.
"But she is great fun. She has a terrific sense of humour and she's a real glass-half-full kind of person. She's also utterly devoted to her family and a huge asset to the monarchy."
In fact, Sophie became a close friend and confidante of the late Queen soon after she married Prince Edward in June 1999, six years after meeting him at a charity tennis event while she was working in public relations.
With royal brides having previously hailed from aristocratic circles, Sophie's solid, middle-class background – she was the daughter of a tyre company director and a secretary – was a first for the royal family.
But she developed a close bond with Queen Elizabeth and the pair regularly met for tea and rode horses together in Great Windsor Park. And it seems that the Duchess is just as popular with others across the royal household.
"She is incredibly kind, generous, selfless, utterly genuine and much loved by those who work with her," Ailsa says.
Fearless approach
Now patron of more than 70 charities, Sophie has taken up women's issues in the worlds of business, conflict and health, becoming the first member of the royal family to openly discuss the symptoms of menopause.
"She is not afraid to push the envelope and speak out about subjects that may be perceived to be sensitive," Ailsa says.
Janet Lindsay, chief executive of the charity Wellbeing of Women – of which the Duchess is royal patron – tells HELLO! that Sophie gives her time "so generously" to support the cause.
"She is committed to ending the shame, stigma and silence around women's health issues," Janet says. "We are enormously grateful to her for helping shine a light on our work to save and change the lives of women, girls and babies."
Lucy Brown, chief executive of Disability Initiative, of which Sophie has been patron since 2003, says: "She is authentically charismatic; she has an ability to connect with anybody and everybody. She's empathetic – and I don't think that’s changed. She's always had that in her.
"She’s always had incredible emotional intelligence. But she's also really bright, really clever and well-informed."
And as many who know her will attest, Sophie is more than willing to be hands-on with the organisations she supports.
"She's a dab hand at the kazoo and the drums; she's sporty, she's arty,” Lucy tells us. "She’s very adept at whatever she turns her hand to, including communication. Whether it's tennis or yoga, singing or creative arts, she always excels in whatever she puts her mind to."
Meanwhile, Erik Jespersen, co-founder of community charity The Lighthouse – another of Sophie’s patronages – praises her "kindness and attentive presence".
He tells us: "Her Royal Highness has always demonstrated such sincere care and concern for our beneficiaries, listening to their life stories with compassion and empathy."
In recent years, the trailblazing Duchess has visited some of the world's most troubled locations as part of her work to raise awareness of the plight of women caught up in conflict.
In 2024, she became the first member of the royal family to visit Ukraine. Since 2019, she has travelled to Kosovo, Iraq, Colombia, Ethiopia, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Chad to meet survivors of sexual violence in war.
"It means so much for the female survivors to have the Duchess raise this issue on a global platform to bring greater public attention and, hopefully, resolution to it," Ambassador Melanne Verveer, executive director of the Georgetown Institute for Women, Peace and Security, tells us.
"She can give voice to the survivors of this horrific violence. She has been unstinting in her commitment to both meeting women in war zones and advocating for them on global platforms. We have been honoured to work with her."
Next month, Sophie and Prince Edward will travel to Nepal, becoming the first royals to visit the Himalayan nation since 2016. And HELLO! understands that Sophie will undertake more solo travel abroad in the coming months to highlight the causes closest to her heart.
During her 25 years as a royal, she has also been a strong ambassador for British fashion, regularly appearing on lists of best-dressed royals and favouring UK-based designers such as Erdem, Emilia Wickstead and Suzannah.
Fairytale romance
Although she has experienced ups and downs – she suffered a life-threatening ectopic pregnancy and almost died from blood loss during Louise's birth – her marriage remains rock solid, with Edward the only one of the late Queen'
When the Duke turned 60 last year, three months before he and Sophie celebrated their silver wedding anniversary, she paid an emotional tribute to her "darling Edward", saying that her husband "is still my best friend".
No doubt Edward is equally grateful to have Sophie in his life as they celebrate her milestone birthday together.
