A breakdown in diplomatic protocol led to some confusion yesterday at the Nairobi airport, where the Earl and Countess of Wessex arrived after a week-long tour of three African nations.
Sophie and Prince Edward, who landed in Kenya after a six-hour delay in their flight from Johannesburg, were obliged to carry their own luggage off the plane after it became clear that the usual arrangements hadn’t been made.
Having completed the official section of their African tour, the couple returned to Kenya at the invitation of the Duke of Edinburgh Award International Foundation, of which the Earl of Wessex is a trustee. They were not, therefore, accompanied by their usual staff, a fact local diplomats were apparently unaware of.
A visibly bewildered Sophie descended the aircraft and handed her suit carrier to Edward Clay, Her Majesty’s High Commissioner. Mr Clay greeted this unexpected gesture with a smile, taking the bag in his left hand as he shook Sophie’s hand with his right.
A spokesman for the Foreign Office in London stated that there is no “set protocol” for such visits and that The High Commissioner simply lent a helping hand.
Sophie and Edward arrived in Nairobi from South Africa where they had been presenting a series of Duke of Edinburgh International Awards. During that section of the trip they also handed over a Land Rover to the Africa branch of the organisation which helps young people in over 100 countries acquire new life skills through voluntary and challenging activities.
Photo: © Alphapress.com
Photo: © Alphapress.com
