Sophie Wessex donned an effortlessly chic look today as she visited a pub in Surrey to discuss how the hospitality industry has survived through lockodown.
The Countess, 55, has spent lockdown at her home of Bagshot Park in Surrey with her husband Prince Edward, 56, and her children Lady Louise Windsor, 16, and James, Viscount Severn, 12.
Today, the former PR girl visited The Half Moon public house in Windlesham and met landlord Conrad Sturt, as well as fellow members of the Bagshot Women’s Institute, who she had been keeping in touch with via video calls.
During her visit the mother-of-two took a moment to pet the landlord’s adorable black Labrador puppy, which is the same breed and colour as one of the Wessex family’s pets.
Sophie Wessex donned an effortlessly classy look today as she visited a pub in Surrey to discuss how the hospitality industry has survived through lockodown
During her visited the mother-of-two took a moment to pet the landlord’s adorable black Labrador puppy, which is the same breed and colour as one of the Wessex’s family pets
Despite drizzly weather, Sophie dressed for the British summer pairing chunky brown leather wedges with a light pink box-pleated midi-skirt.
The royal showed off her style credentials by adding a cosy purple jumper and kept jewellery to a minimum with a simple silver chain and chunky earrings.
The royal kept her blonde hair down in slight wave, and opted for a soft make-up look for the outing.
The Countess of Wessex also joined members of the Bagshot Women’s Institute for a catch-up.
The Countess, 55, has spent lockdown at her home of Bagshot Park in Surrey with her husband Prince Edward, 56, and her children Lady Louise Windsor, 16, and James, Viscount Severn, 12. Today she travelled to a nearby pub for the official visit
The royal showed off her style credentials by adding a cosy purple jumper and kept jewellery to a minimum with a simple silver chain and chunky earrings
Members of the group were keeping in touch via video calls during lockdown, but have recently started meeting up in small groups for socially distanced catch-ups.
Sophie, who last month celebrated her 21st wedding anniversary with the Queen’s youngest son, looked engaged as she chatted to pub staff about the future of the industry, which has been hit hard by the Covid-19 pandemic.
In the pub garden, the Countess spoke to the WI Members about some of the things that they and others have been doing to support the coronavirus response efforts during lockdown, including sewing PPE and scrub bags for the local hospital, Frimley Park, and baking for key workers, including the local fire service.
Today, the former PR girl visited ‘The Half Moon’ pub house Windlesham and met landlord Conrad Sturt (pictured back left) and spoke to members of the local Women’s Institute (pictured)
The royal kept her blonde hair down in slight wave, and opted for a soft make-up look for the outing
The Countess has been a member of Bagshot WI since 2007 and was due to give a keynote address at the cancelled WI Annual Meeting in June.
Pubs and restaurants in England were allowed the reopen last weekend as ‘super Saturday’ saw people dash to their local for a pint after more than 100 days of forced closure.
Conrad Sturt, who runs the pub with his mother, spoke to Her Royal Highness about the challenges they had encountered and how the business has adapted to new guidelines in order to welcome patrons again, including a Contact and Trace system at the entrance and a new table layout.
Experts believe Brits sank around 15 million pints on the first day back in action, but the still needs to recover from the huge hit of the pandemic.
Emma McClarkin, chief executive of the British Beer and Pub Association, previously told PA the coronavirus pandemic had been ‘devastating’ for the sector financially.
Despite drizzly weather, Sophie dressed for the British summer pairing chunky brown leather wedges with a light pink box-pleated midi-skirt. She is pictured greeting a puppy
Thee Countess of Wessex appeared in good spirits as she chatted to staff and customers at the pub – from a social distance, but couldn’t resist saying hello to this adorable puppy
And she warned pubs could be facing a ‘double hit’ when they reopen as changes to consumer behaviour could see them reluctant to socialise in large numbers.
‘I am very, very worried about the sector,’ ‘If you are looking [to reopen pubs] at the end of summer, it is looking very stark indeed.
‘We could be losing 40 per cent of our businesses if they do not open by the end of September.’
But the Countess of Wessex appeared in good spirits as she chatted to staff and customers at the pub – from a social distance.
Sophie, who last month celebrated her 21st wedding anniversary with the Queen’s youngest son, looked engaged as she chatted to pub staff about the future of the industry, which has been hugely hit by the Covid-19 pandemic. She is pictured standing at a bar, with marks to stop customers from standing too close
The effort comes weeks after Sophie was hailed as the ‘royal key worker’ by experts for her volunteering work throughout the pandemic
The Half Moon pub has been in the Sturt family since 1909, and during the visit The Countess met three generations of the family who are currently involved in its day-to-day running.
It plays a huge part in the local community and during lockdown they were able to introduce a delivery and takeaway food and drink service, to support those unable to leave their homes, self-isolating or working on the frontline.
The pub dates back to the 17th century and was originally a Coaching Inn and General Stores for The Duke of Connaught.
The effort comes weeks after Sophie was hailed as the ‘royal key worker’ by experts for her volunteering work throughout the pandemic.
The Countess has been at the forefront of the Royal Family’s response to the current global crisis. She is pictured speaking to pub guests
Countess Of Wessex speaks to guests during her visit at ‘The Half Moon’ pub. She spoke to staff and customers about how their business had been afffected
The Countess has been at the forefront of the Royal Family’s response to the current global crisis – and joined a counselling shift on Wednesday at a call centre offering support for vulnerable children.
Speaking of her volunteering efforts, Joe Little, managing editor of Majesty, commented: ‘She is making a difference in a very understated, very ‘Sophie’ way.’
It comes as Peregrine Armstrong-Jones, of Bentley’s Entertainment, told PEOPLE magazine: ‘There’s no fanfare.
No doom and gloom here! Sophie was in great spirits during her visit to the pub in Surrey, which isn’t far from her official residence of Bagshot Park
‘These are private visits done in her own private time. When she leaves our kitchens, she generally then goes on to do more projects in different hospitals.’
A friend added: ‘She was brought up by her parents and there was going to be no free ride in her family.
‘She wasn’t born to be the eldest daughter of a duke and duchess and find a marvelous marriage and polish her tiaras.’
Last month, the royal was pictured chatting to staff as she met with the team at the Childline and NSPCC headquarters in London, which is a confidential service for under-19s to seek help and support.
Sophie also joined The Saints Foundation last Friday to help pack food and prescription parcels for the vulnerable.