Duchess Sophie steps up once again as she delivers message from King Charles in Tanzania

Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh, has stepped up once again for the Royal Family by flying solo to Africa to deliver a message from King Charles to a Commonwealth nation.

The Duchess touched down in Tanzania this morning (Tuesday) as part of her work promoting collaboration between the UK and the African country on health, agriculture and women's empowerment.

Sophie, who is the global ambassador for the International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness (IAPB), is visiting Dar es Salaam, and will move on to Zanzibar and Arusha this week to see the work of international organisations Sightsavers, Uniting to Combat neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) and the Alliance of Biodiversity and International Centre for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT).

During a reception tonight Sophie, who last visited Tanzania in 2004, delivered a message personally signed by King Charles in which he expressed his "gratitude" for her work and that of the people on the ground helping fight tropical diseases.

The message said: "As patron of one of the International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness's members, Sightsavers, and knowing that the Duchess of Edinburgh is with you today in Tanzania, I particularly wanted you all to know how full of admiration and gratitude I am for your passion and devoted efforts in treating and preventing neglected tropical diseases, especially trachoma."

It continued: "Your constant dedication and hard work will lead us to a world where inclusion and equality can be realised across our Commonwealth.

"I send you all my warmest good wishes and heartfelt encouragement for the much-needed success of your gathering."

The message from the Monarch was signed "Charles R", signalling it was personally written by His Majesty.

During her visit Sophie will meet the president of Tanzania, Samia Suluhu Hassan, and the president of Zanzibar, Dr Hussein Ali Mwinyi, as well as healthcare providers and members of local communities.

On the first day of the trip Sophie visited Magomeni Health Centre in Dar es Salaam, a primary health facility offering essential sexual health and family planning services.

She later visited the Anti-Human Trafficking and Child Protection Unit, meeting investigators, prosecutors and social welfare practitioners to hear about efforts to tackle child abuse in Tanzania and the care given to victims.

During a reception on Tuesday evening celebrating health collaboration, the duchess delivered a speech recognising progress made in Tanzania to rid the country of trachoma, an infectious and blinding eye disease, and the work still to be done.

Sophie set an ambition for the elimination of trachoma across the Commonwealth by 2030 and delivered a message from the King commending the efforts.