The Countess of Wessex had a busy day in Somerset yesterday, attending lessons in school. Sophie may have had a sense of de ja vu, as she viewed one of her own outfits at Bath’s Fashion Museum.
Sophie began her day at Gordano School in Portishead, to officially open its new dining hall and languages faculty, part of a £4.6million project.
A proud day for Gordano School as we welcomed HRH The Countess of Wessex to see our student-led First Aid in Schools Pilot Project and to officially open our new Dining Hall & Languages Faculty. @RoyalFamily pic.twitter.com/4RQOg6io9Z
— Gordano School (@gordanosch) February 26, 2019
The royal visitor unveiled a plaque to mark the occasion, and met with staff and students. Some of these pupils were involved in a first aid training scheme, practising on a dummy, and others were working towards a certificate from the Duke of Edinburgh Award; the Countess is a trustee of the award.
Headteacher Tom Inman said: “I am thrilled Her Royal Highness visited Gordano to see just a sample of the wide range of opportunities we offer our students and to open our new building.” You can view more pictures from the visit here.
At the Radstock Museum, the Countess joined in with a Victorian-style lesson, using chalkboards.
The museum focuses on what life was like in the county in the 19th century. It is situated in a converted late Victorian Market Hall and showcases items such as fossils, home artefacts, and mining and railway memorabilia.
Countess of Wessex joins youngsters for a Victorian-style lesson in Somersethttps://t.co/7F7D8PU2wv
— Daily Mail Femail (@Femail) February 27, 2019
The Lord Lieutenant of Somerset and DL Mr Edward Allen greeted HRH The Countess of Wessex to the Radstock Co-operative Society and Radstock Museum in glorious sunshine this afternoon. @bbcsomerset @SomersetCouncil @CountyGazette @itvwestcountry @museum pic.twitter.com/eBTOgUplqB
— Somerset Lieutenancy (@SomersetLL) February 26, 2019
Finally, it was to Bath’s Fashion Museum; Sophie has an interest in the area, and is also patron of the London College of Fashion.
The Countess toured the museum, viewing the ‘Royal Women’ exhibition with manager Rosemary Harden, collection manager Elly Summers and the council’s head of heritage services Stephen Bird. This showcase displays outfits worn by successive generations of women in the Royal Family, including Queen Alexandra, Queen Mary, The Queen Mother, and Princess Margaret.
One outfit in fact belongs to Sophie: the Bruce Oldfield skirt suit she wore in 2011 to the wedding of The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge.
the countess of wessex views her bruce oldfield outfit on display (fashion museum bath)
The Royal was also given a book on the exhibition and its displays, which run until 28th April 2019.
Bath’s Fashion Museum is located in the Assembly Rooms, which were once fashionable places to gather at the height of the city’s popularity in the eighteenth century.
During the visit, Sophie also viewed ‘A History of Fashion in 100 Objects’ as well as taking a look at some historic royal gloves which will be going on display next month. This includes a pair belonging to Elizabeth I, and a pari of carriage riding gloves that belonged to The Duke of Edinburgh.
sophie views some of the gloves that will be displayed at the fashion museum (fashion museum bath)
Councillor Karen Walker, Chair of Bath & North East Somerset Council, which runs the Fashion Museum, said: “It was a great honour to welcome HRH The Countess of Wessex to the Fashion Museum. The Museum’s collection is one of the best of its kind in the world, and our staff enjoyed showing HRH around the exhibitions and showcasing the care and preparation work that goes on behind the scenes ahead of a display or exhibition at the Fashion Museum.”
For information on what the Countess wore on her visit, head to our sister site here.
