Duchess turns 60

Palace celebrates Sophie with enchanting portraits

Duchess Sophie turns 60 on Monday. To mark the milestone birthday, the palace published three new portraits of Prince Edward's wife at the weekend.(Bild: Viennareport/Stephen Lock / i-Images / Polaris)

The palace is celebrating Duchess Sophie ahead of her 60th birthday on Monday and released three new, enchanting portraits of Prince Edward's wife at the weekend.

The Duchess of Edinburgh celebrates her milestone birthday at the beginning of the week. To celebrate, the palace released three new portraits of King Charles' sister-in-law on Saturday evening.

Photographer personally selected
And Duchess Sophie is beautifully presented in them. While Prince Edward's wife is sitting on a bench in front of a bay window in the first portrait and beaming at the camera, she is staged in front of a photo wall in the other two pictures.

In one of the pictures, Sophie wears a white pleated skirt with a black turtleneck sweater and delicate gold jewelry; for the pictures taken outdoors, the Duchess slipped into green wide-leg trousers and a brown turtleneck sweater. A long, white wool coat completes the look.

All of Duchess Sophie's birthday portraits were taken in Bagshot Park in January, according to the palace. Behind the camera was photographer Christina Ebenezer, who personally selected Sophie. "The Duchess of Edinburgh was interested in Ebenezer's creative style of photography and wanted to support an up-and-coming photographer," it said. 

Announcement for a milestone birthday
In addition to the congratulations for Sophie, the birthday message also contains a nice announcement. On the occasion of her milestone birthday, Sophie feels "an enthusiasm and renewed commitment to her work in the field of gender equality and looks forward to continuing to promote and champion this issue in the years to come".