The Countess of Wessex has spent her birthday volunteering at an NHS vaccination centre in Surrey as part of her work with St John Ambulance.
Sophie is 57 years old today. Since 2004, she has served as Grand President. The charity provides disaster relief and training in first aid worldwide.
She worked with volunteers on her shift and was photographed greeting patients, taking their details, looking after their well-being.
This isn’t the first time the Countess has worked at one of the vaccination centres; she trained as a Care Volunteer last year before volunteering with the charity to help the Covid-19 jab rollout across the country.
The Countess of Wessex, who turned 57 today, marked her birthday by volunteering at a vaccination centre with St John Ambulance, of which she is the Grand President
During her shift, Sophie was spotted working with fellow volunteers to greet patients, take their details and look after their wellbeing
The Countess was also gifted birthday flowers by Sy John’s Ambulance. She also received sweet messages from the Queen for her birthday.
According to reports, she was eager to help in any way possible during the mass vaccination program, which St John Ambulance supports. She is also proud to have been a part of the growing volunteer team at the charity.
Speaking after her first vaccination centre outing, a St John Ambulance spokeswoman said: ‘Like many of our existing and long-standing volunteers, the Countess of Wessex has completed the required training to become a care volunteer in support of the NHS vaccination programme.
“We are delighted to receive the Countess as Grand President of St John Ambulance to an expanding team of more than 10,000 volunteers, who have been trained to be deployed to NHS vaccination centers all across England in an extraordinary collective effort against the pandemic.
At the end of today’s shift, Sophie was given a pin badge which is given to all St John Ambulance personnel to thank them for their support with the vaccination programme. A bouquet of flowers was gifted to Sophie as a birthday gift.
Sophie, in addition to receiving well wishes from fellow volunteers, also received messages from Queen Elizabeth via social media.
Instagram and Twitter of the Royal Family shared photos showing Sophie beaming holding her Guide Dog puppy.
It shows the Countess dressed in a floor-length purple gown and lab coat.A balloon emoticon was added to the caption.
Sophie is seen today during her shift. Sophie started volunteering for the Covid vaccine rollout in 2013 because she wanted to be able to help during mass vaccinations.
Pictured here with fellow volunteers, the Countess is thought to proud to be part of the charity’s growing team
So that she could be involved in the jab rollout program, the royal received special care volunteer training from the charity.
Sophie is believed to be the monarch’s closest confidante and ‘favourite family member’.
Edward, her husband and the youngest son of the Queen, is she and Edward. They live in Bagshot Park, just outside London, with their children.
Sophie and The Queen are said to speak at least once a day and enjoy regular Saturday ‘movie afternoons’ when they watch old films together.
Her Majesty shared the photo on social media to celebrate Sophie’s Birthday. It was taken last November when Sophie was at the Guide Dogs National Centre, Leamington Spa as part her ongoing commitment to support people with vision impairment.
Pictured here in 2019 with Sophie and the Queen at the Guide Dogs National Centre, Leamington Spa. Sophie is believed to be the monarch’s favorite family member
As well as her work with St John’s Ambulance, Sophie has worked with multiple organisations that support people with vision impairments, as her daughter Lady Louise, 18, (pictured) has suffered with sight challenges
The The Guide Dogs National Centre has the patronage of Lady Louise the Countess, who is also close to her heart as she suffered from esotropia when her baby girl was just a toddler and needed corrective surgery.
This condition causes both eyes to look different directions. It can lead to serious vision issues if left untreated. Sophie was inspired by her daughter’s vision problems to support other visually impaired people.
She serves as the patron of the International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness.
She has been to India, Bangladesh, and Tanzania helping blind people and others with vision problems over the past decade.