Angelina Jolie’s connections to the British royal family always amaze me. Jolie has known the Duchess of Cornwall for years, and they’ve done events together in support of survivors of rape and abuse. Jolie was knighted by the Queen in 2014, and Jolie also participated (last year) in a documentary about the Queen’s Commonwealth Canopy. Jolie has also had at least one private meeting with the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge. And now, the Countess of Wessex is becoming a royal ambassador to Jolie’s Preventing Sexual Violence in Conflict Initiative.
Sophie, the Countess of Wessex, is joining forces with Angelina Jolie in a bid to help victims of conflict-related rape, sexual violence and exploitation. The 54-year-old royal will champion the work of the Preventing Sexual Violence in Conflict Initiative (PSVI) set up by the Oscar-winning American actress and former foreign secretary William Hague in 2014. The programme works to tackle stigma, support survivors – including children born of wartime rape – and prevent conflict-related sexual violence around the world.
Writing for the Telegraph to mark International Women’s Day, the mother-of-two, who married Prince Edward in 1999, announced that she will also be taking up an active role championing the UK’s work on Women, Peace and Security (WPS), formed 20 years ago to tackle the impact of armed conflict on women and girls, and to promote the positive role women play in building peace and stability.
“Against a backdrop of ugly headlines for women, revelations of sexual exploitation, and the abuse suffered by those in war zones, it is easy to overlook the pioneering work of change-makers,” she said. “Brave women that stand for progress, even when their physical security and basic aspirations are under threat.”
Calling for women to play a bigger role in peacekeeping, she added: “Only when women and men work alongside each other as equals will the world see sustained improvement in conflict resolution and a reduction in sexual violence in conflict.”
The Countess is patron of more than 70 charities and has long championed for gender equality having founded the Women’s Network Forum in 2014, which promotes women in the workplace.
I remember learning, years ago, that Camilla took up the cause of supporting rape treatment shelters and supporting survivors, and how Camilla was extremely passionate about the work. I wonder why Camilla isn’t involved, although I suspect it’s because Camilla is getting older and she doesn’t have the time to take on a formal role in another charity like this. I’ve also wondered in the past why the Duchess of Cambridge doesn’t get more involved in these kinds of issues, but I stopped wondering at some point. This feels like something the Duchess of Sussex will eventually be involved with too. But for now, I’m happy that Sophie is taking it up.
Photos courtesy of WENN, Avalon Red.
Not too Hollywood for a member of the Royal Family? 😉
Right? Nice catch!
LOL came here to say this.
Angelina’s face is flawless
I like Sophie and think this seems like a good cause for her. And connected to a Hollywood celebrity, oh my!
My guess is that we are not likely to see Camilla take on major new initiatives or charities before she becomes queen consort. She’s pretty busy as it is (although I feel like she scaled back somewhat this year? that could just be my perception though) and I think she is probably taking some time to breathe before becoming QC.
This is an admirable charity to be part of, since the subject matter is not an easy one to deal with. So Good on the Countess Sophie for wanting to tackle that and champion it!
Soph’s admirable! I’m sure that she is also a great boost and support to Edward, the gawky teen we could never have imagined grown up and ‘earling’, ‘n all!
As Duke of Ed. when the sad day comes, he’ll have so much more solid experience behind him, and much enhanced ability to be suddenly more ‘inspected’, so to speak. Good pair, these two, in my book 🙂
Different generation I know, but still….they seem young at heart (unlike Yawk) : they never hang out with the non-pregnant Cambridges, I think? Maybe perhaps the Duke of Hazza and Meghan in the future? Can easily picture Lady Louise (is it?) being completely in love with the Sussex baby, and constantly begging to babysit 😁’
“No you MUST go to the West End tomorrow night! Yes I *know* you’ve seen it loads of times already, but think of it as a Christmas Mastermind subject! Gran would totes adore that!! Oh …..please??! Meghan…..insist!! Well …. just sit in the kitchen all evening, and leave me to look after the baby, then!”
This sounds like a great cause and a good fit for Sophie. She doesn’t get a lot of press here in America, but she seems to work hard and take her role seriously. I can see the DoS getting more involved in the charity as it grows; right now is probably not the right time since she’s about to go on maternity leave, the charity is new and she has other responsibilities. It would be wonderful for Meghan and Sophie to work on something together.
Glad they are working together for a good cause.
I wonder why she’s a Countess, not a Duchess? Not really important though….this woman has been working under the radar for a long time. I’m glad she’s bringing attention with Ms. Jolie to such a devastating crime. Rape is about power – only power. I’m grateful to every famous woman willing to put her “money where her mouth is” so to speak.
Because Edward will inherit his father’s dukedom, keeping the title of Edinburgh seamless; so he was elevated on marriage to the lesser degree of earl, as you couldn’t just slither sideways as duke later on, into a new title.
So he’ll move up from earl to duke, and Sophie will be a formidable duchess. 🙂
The only way how to prevent sexual violence in conflict areas is by stopping the conflicts.
No wars = no sexual violence in wars.