The Countess of Wessex visited the Isle of Wight, England

On September 21, 2018, Countess Sophie of Wessex visited the Isle of Wight, which is one of the largest isles of United Kingdom. The Countess visited a charity organization, a skincare company and officially launched a new ferry.

The day of the Countess of Wessex day on the Isle of Wight began at Aspire Ryde, a community charity organization that gives people from across the Island the opportunity to participate in gardening projects, a community choir and dance lessons.

Starting life as a Church in 1840, the building was transformed with the help of volunteers and became a bustling community centre that serves over 1000 people a week.

In 2017, Aspire’s volunteers were recognised for their outstanding community work when they received The Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service. The Award was created in 2002 to mark The Queen’s Golden Jubilee and every year they honour outstanding contributions made to local communities by groups of volunteers.

Afterwards, the Countess toured the Greenhouse factory at Liz Earle’s headquarters to discuss the skincare company’s sustainable approach to production.

The day ended with the official launch of ‘Victoria of Wight’ which is a new ferry for the crossing between Portsmouth and Fishbourne.

Ceremonial ship launching dates back thousands of years and the process involves numerous traditions – one of which is ‘christening’ the vessel by breaking a bottle of champagne over the bow of the ship as it is named aloud. The new ferry is environmentally friendly as it partly runs on electricity.