Countess of Wessex celebrates liberation anniversary of Guernsey and Jersey

Today The Countess of Wessex visited the island of Guernsey to celebrate the 70th anniversary since the islands were liberated of German occupation following WWII.

Sophie visited Footes Lane on behalf of The Queen, and was a special guest at the open-air church service to mark to occasion.

She delivered this message of congratulations to the islanders: “To my most loyal people in the Bailiwick of Guernsey, I send greetings on this the seventieth anniversary of the day of their liberation.

“I’m most grateful for your assurance of continued allegiance and loyalty. On this significant anniversary my thoughts and prayers are with you and for the future happiness and prosperity of the Bailiwick of Guernsey.”

A cavalcade, a formal procession, took place across the island all day to celebrate the anniversary, but unfortunately, poor weather delayed the flypast by the Dakota (from the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight), and a parachute display from the The Princess of Wales Royal Regiment had to be cancelled. The Countess’ appearance seemed to put smiles on the locals’ faces though, describing her as ‘charming’.

Sophie did a short tour of the island and unveiled a memorial stone at Weighbridge roundabout to mark the anniversary. She said, unveiling the memorial: “There are many who are no longer with us and it is to their memory we dedicate these celebrations.”

The Countess wore a striking green dress, which many noted is the island’s colour, sometimes called ‘Guernsey green’, and also wore ruby earrings, loaned from Her Majesty, to honour Jersey, where she visited next.

The Countess then travelled to Jersey, also celebrating the anniversary of their liberation today. Here, The 50-year-old mum-of-two took part in a Liberation Ceremony.

Sophie then attended a special open air meeting of the States of Jersey in People’s Park, giving a similar message from The Queen to the islanders, and had a picnic lunch at Government House with 350 girl-guides; The Countess is a patron of Girl Guiding UK.

Feature photo: The Cooperative

stamp

Share this

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.