Sophie Wessex undertakes royal farm visit, jokes she has 'eaten her weight in fruit'

Sophie, the Countess of Wessex, paid a visit to The New Forest Fruit Company farm last week, in her role as the patron of Leaf Farming. The farm is a short drive from her royal home Bagshot Park in Surrey.

During the visit to the sustainable farm on Thursday, Sophie Wessex picked her own berries and also joked that she had "eaten her weight in fruit." The visit is the latest in a series of public royal engagements that the royal has been undertaking since the ease of coronavirus lockdown measures in the United Kingdom.

The farm shared her pictures on its Twitter account and wrote: "Countess of Wessex very much enjoyed picking her own berries. After the visit she commented that she had "eaten her weight in fruit".'

In the pictures, the 55-year-old looked relaxed as she learned about sustainable practices of growing fruits. The royal was casually dressed in a white shirt, cosy grey jumper, and brown jeans. She was photographed picking sweet raspberries in a box, snacking on the freshly picked fruit, and chatting with the workers at the farm.

The Hampshire-based farm tweeted that the visit was focused on environmental and farming sustainability and that "it was a privilege to show Countess of Wessex around the farm." "The Countess expressed an interest in biological control, nutrition and understanding how fruit is grown," it added.

Sophie, the wife of Prince Edward and youngest daughter-in-law of Queen Elizabeth II, has made a number of royal visits in the last few days. She visited NSPCC childline headquarters in London last week and participated in a counselling shift to see first-hand the service it is offering to vulnerable children especially during coronavirus pandemic. Earlier this month, Sophie along with Edward helped the volunteers at London Irish Rugby Club in preparing meals for the National Health Service staff, and then delivered them at Frimley Park hospital in Surrey.

She has also continued her virtual engagements, and participated in a UN conference for commemorating the sixth International Day for Elimination of Sexual Violence in Conflict, on Friday. "I hope I may speak for all Survivors of Conflict Related Sexual Violence when I say: we must listen to the needs and wishes of all Survivors and we must act accordingly," the mother-of-two said during the conference.