The Duchess of Edinburgh flew to the banks of the Zambezi river as part of her tour of Zambia, where she spent her third day learning about the fight against poachers, easing tensions between wildlife and local communities, and the sheer joy of seeing elephants in the light of an African sunset.
For Sophie, the visit also offered a chance to experience something she had missed when Prince Edward and their son James, Earl of Wessex, enjoyed a safari several years earlier. This time, she watched elephants in their natural habitat, spotted hippos from the water and filmed lionesses and cubs as daylight faded.
Behind those memorable encounters lay the work of conservationists and rangers determined to protect the animals. The duchess met specialist dogs trained to detect weapons and wildlife products, alongside a women-only ranger unit whose members had removed more than 200 snares this year.
HELLO!, the only publication accompanying Sophie on the visit, flew with her in a 12-seater light aircraft to Conservation Lower Zambezi, a non-profit organisation dedicated to safeguarding the fragile ecosystems of Zambia's southern border. Our reporter, Jack Malvern, filed this dispatch:
Duchess...