Prince Edward turned 58 on Thursday,
and to mark the momentous event, the royal and
the Countess of Wessex headed to
Merseyside.
The Count and Countess spent the day meeting with community leaders,
charities and emergency services workers in order to hear more about the work
they were doing to benefit the region. There was a
particularly emotional moment for Sophie who took the opportunity to meet
with 90-year-old Edna Farley, who had been speaking with the royal regularly on
the telephone since the beginning of the pandemic as part of the NHS
Volunteer Responders programme.
The royal couple started their day at the opening of the Ken Dodd
Happiness Hall in Knotty Ash. The building used to be the school that the
late Ken Dodd attended, but has since been transformed into a community centre
in his memory.
At the Hall, they met with children who were dressed as the ‘Diddy Men’
to celebrate the late comedian as well as representatives from their patronages
who were supporting people in Liverpool.
They also met with those who are attempting to help people in
Ukraine, including Ukrainian Clergyman Father Taras Khomych and Gosia McKane,
the director of Merseyside Polonia, a Polish charity that has organized
donations of clothing and other essential items for refugees from Ukraine
arriving in Poland.
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The Count and Countess started their day opening the Ken Dodd Happiness Hall
The royal couple’s next stop was at Asylum Link Merseyside, where they
met with caseworkers and volunteers who supported refugees and asylum seekers
arriving in the country. Edward and Sophie also met pupils learning English and heard about the support they were receiving.
As Sophie had tea with Edna, the Duke of Wessex officially opened
Merseyside Police’s new headquarters and was introduced to police officers and
cadets.
He also met with an honour guard of officers who had been in the force
for 20 years, before the Police Band performed to mark his birthday.
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The royal met with serving police officers
The Queen, who recently recovered from a battle with COVID-19,
has also marked her youngest son’s birthday, with
the official Royal Family Twitter account sharing a photo of the two.
The photo was taken last October and showed Edward beaming as he attended
the launch of the Queen’s Baton Relay for Birmingham 2022, the XXII
Commonwealth Games at Buckingham Palace. Her Majesty was also in attendance at
the engagement in her role as Patron of the Commonwealth Games Federation,
while Edward is Vice Patron.
“Wishing The Earl of Wessex a very Happy Birthday!” the
caption on the Prince’s birthday post read.
