Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh Once Admitted Menopause Made Royal Engagements Challenging: ‘You Try and Pick up the Pieces’
From time to time, British royals get personal during appearances. Not just by posing for selfies or connecting with members of the public but by sharing their own experiences. Case in point: Sophie, the Duchess of Edinburgh, discussing going through menopause.
Sophie shared that menopause left her wondering ‘what has just happened’ during royal engagements
While marking her becoming a patron of the Wellbeing of Women charity, Sophie opened up about her own menopause experience.
“You know in the middle of a presentation when you suddenly can’t remember what you were talking about, try being on an engagement when that happens,” she said in a May 2021 video posted to the royal family’s official YouTube channel.
“Your words just go. And you’re standing there and going, ‘Hang on, I thought I was a reasonably intelligent person, what has just happened to me?’
“It’s like somebody’s just gone and taken your brain out for however long before they pop it back in again and you try and pick up the pieces and carry on,” Sophie explained.
Joining her on the call were Positive Menopause website founder Sarah Jane Cale and Wellbeing of Women’s chief professor Dame Lesley Regan.
Sophie wants there to be more of a conversation surrounding menopause: ‘Let’s talk about this’
The Duchess of Edinburgh, then the Countess of Wessex, continued, saying talk of menopause — and menstruation — shouldn’t be taboo subjects.
“We all talk about having babies, but nobody talks about periods, nobody talks about the menopause, why not?” she said. “It’s something that happens to us 12 times a year, it’s something that’s incredibly normal but it’s something that is hidden. And I think it’s time to say enough, we need to bring this out onto the table and say let’s talk about this.”
“It’s not only about dialogue with women and young girls, it’s men as well,” Sophie added. “This is a conversation that has to be opened up to everybody. Even if they don’t want to listen — we just have to get louder.”
“How much are young girls actually told at the beginning?” she asked. “Because I don’t remember having these lessons at all. When we’re told that we’re going to begin our periods, are we told that they’re going to end as well?”
Sophie also remarked that menopause “should be a liberation” with women “celebrating the fact that we don’t have to have periods anymore.” However, oftentimes “it feels like a shackle” with an “incredibly negative” connotation.
“Yes, it’s an admittance of the fact that we’re getting a bit older,” the mother of two said. “We’re not as young as we were before, we’re not being, you know, to use the word ‘productive,’ we are past that stage, and it’s quite a moment to admit it.”
The Duchess of Edinburgh’s royal engagements often have her being ‘positive’ and ‘relatable’
Despite any surprises that may pop up during royal engagements, menopausal or otherwise, Sophie’s public speaking skills don’t waver.
Take, for instance, her walking off stage during a December 2022 awards ceremony. Sophie excused herself to grab a tissue and returned moments later to continue with her remarks.
Her handling of the situation earned her praise from a body language expert, who said at the time Sophie made it “a positive, relatable, and likeable [sic] moment rather than a toe-curling one.”
More recently, in March 2023, Sophie “set the tone” at the annual Commonwealth Day Service before striking a friendly note with her daughter, Lady Louise, at King Charles III’s coronation.
