Prince Edward and his wife Sophie have returned from their official two-day visit to the Isle of Wight.
The royal couple had a busy couple of days ahead of them, as their schedule included visiting local schools, attending a gala fundraising dinner and opening a new section of Osbourne House — the seaside palace that belonged to Queen Victoria and Prince Albert.
Sophie started off her tour with a visit to the Gatten and Lake Primary School. The Countess of Wessex, 49, was given a warm welcome as she arrived at the school, greeted by immaculately dressed students.
© Photo: Getty ImagesSophie met some particularly cute schoolchildren who had donned chef hats and aprons, and gave the royal an endearing cooking demonstration. The blonde beauty was then shown an arts and craft display and praised the youngsters for their creative skills.
Later joined by her husband Edward, the couple visited Shanklin Theatre where they met members of First Act, a drama group for people with disabilities. Edward, who turned 50 earlier this month, was treated to a belated birthday cake made by the Women's Institute.
© Photo: Getty ImagesThe Queen's son looked delighted to dig into the cake, which was decorated with theatrical figurines and gold icing. Prince Edward thanked the students with a short speech, after which his gracious wife was presented with a beautiful bouquet of flowers.
The royal couple glammed up for the evening as they attended a gala dinner at the Royal Yacht Squadron in Cowes. The fundraising dinner was held in honour of the Newport Minster Renewal Appeal, of which Prince Edward is a patron.
The stylish Sophie looked elegant as ever in a form-fitting black and bronze lace dress. The mother-of-two kept her jewellery to a minimum, leaving all attention to her round, emerald green pendant necklace.
© Photo: Getty ImagesThe following day the couple paid a visit to another school, the Queensgate Foundation Primary School, where they got stuck in to a music lesson and cookery class. Sophie and Edward were shown a special project that students had made about the royal family, and later witnessed the unveiling of a plaque to commemorate their visit.
Sophie looked like she was having a particularly grand time, as she followed the children's attempts at throwing cloud dough into the air and lent her hand in baking pizzas and cookies.
© Photo: Getty ImagesThe final stop on their tour was to the Osbourne House, where Sophie and Edward were tasked with officially opening the Childhood at Osborne — a £1.65million conservation project. Open to the public on 1 April, the new quarter will enable visitors to step into the world of royal childhood.
