The Duchess of Edinburgh is the epitome of royal chic on a visit to Finland

All eyes are on King Charles and Queen Camilla’s Caribbean tour, which kicks off this week, but another royal couple is also taking on an under-the-radar foreign visit: The Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh. The diligent pair are in Finland for an official three-day outing celebrating the nation’s cooperation with Britain in cultural, educational and defence spheres.

Sophie and Prince Edward kicked off their visit on 26 October at Helsinki City Hall, where they held an audience with Mayor Daniel Sazonov and his wife, Anita Westerholm. Later that day, they made their way to the Presidential Palace, where they were welcomed by President Alexander Stubb and First Lady Suzanne Innes-Stubb.

The Duchess of Edinburgh wore an elegant ensemble for the occasion, mostly made up of new additions to her royal wardrobe. The star of the show was her Gabriela Hearst houndstooth jacket and skirt combination, which she paired with a new ‘Belle de Jour’ clutch bag from one of her favourite designers, Sophie Habsburg. The Duchess’s shoes were the only repeat piece in the main ensemble, with Sophie opting for her Jimmy Choo ankle boots.

The look was certainly a hit with royal watchers. ‘I am loving her outfit today,’ one fan wrote under a photo of the Duchess, with another commenting that Sophie’s jacket reminded them of the jacket that Princess Diana wore for photographs on her honeymoon at Balmoral with Prince Charles.

‘I am full of praise,’ wrote another: ‘I have not seen her put together that well for ages. This is fully appropriate for her role.’ One commenter added that the Duchesses looked ‘polished, stylish, and beautifully groomed.’

Day two of the Finnish visit began with a joint outing for the Duchess of Edinburgh and the First Lady, with the duo heading to the Kalevala Koru jewellery factory in Helsinki, where they forged a piece of jewellery together. Sophie wore some favourite pieces from her wardrobe on the outing, pairing her Rails Alyssa blouse with an ultramarine Max Mara blazer and trousers set, completing her look with the pair of Giulia Barela hoop earrings that she has worn for so many engagements around the world.

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Like so many of the Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh’s international assignments, this outing to Finland has gone somewhat unsung. Both Sophie and Edward have stepped up their engagement quotas over the past few years, stepping in to support the royal family when both King Charles and the Princess of Wales were undergoing cancer treatment. Of late, however, there has been increased fanfare around the Duchess’s work to help end preventable blindness, with King Charles and the official Royal Family account championing her work in the field.

On Instagram, Buckingham Palace marked World Sight Day with a post in honour of the ‘extraordinary progress made against trachoma, the world’s leading infectious cause of blindness.’ The caption referenced how the number of people thought to be at risk of developing the disease has dropped by 94% thanks to the efforts of communities, health workers, governments, and global partners.

The post then foregrounded the Duchess of Edinburgh’s work as the Global Ambassador for the International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness – which saw her granted an Honorary Fellowship from the College of Optometrists. According to the royal family, Sophie ‘looks forward to joining eye health leaders at the upcoming Global Eye Health Summit in Antigua and Barbuda in early November, helping to amplify the work being done around the world to prevent avoidable sight loss.’

Accompanying the message was a photograph of the diligent Duchess on one of her many international obligations, when she visited the Kirtipur Eye Hospital in Nepal in 2025. Sophie is abroad more than most royals and very often chooses to advocate for ending preventable blindness on her international tours. In Zambia this September, for example, she attended a reception in honour of the International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness.

In August, Sophie announced that she would serve as the new royal patron of Visualise Scotland, a charity dedicated to providing support for adults with visual impairment and complex disabilities throughout Edinburgh and the Lothians. It is the latest of over 70 charities and organisations to have named Sophie their patron, with the late Queen Elizabeth’s ‘favourite daughter-in-law’ taking a keen interest in championing people with physical and visual disabilities.

For the many fans of the royal dubbed ‘Super Sophie’ for her tireless approach to official duties, this celebration of the Duchess of Edinburgh will hopefully be a sign of things to come.