In a royal first, Queen’s daughter-in-law Sophie shares her own experiences of menopause

Sophie, who is married to the Queen’s youngest son Prince Edward, spoke to professionals and volunteers about taboos surrounding menstruation, menopause and pregnancy. In a royal first, the Countess of Wessex also opened up on her personal experiences of menopause.

“Nobody talks about periods. Nobody talks about menopause. Why not?” she remarked. “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.'”

Talking about menopause, the 56-year-old addressed how it was made to feel like a “shackle”. “Really we should be celebrating the fact that we don’t have to have periods anymore – it should be a liberation, but it feels like a shackle. It’s described as something incredibly negative.”

 

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The virtual interaction marked Sophie’s new role as Patron of Wellbeing of Women, a women’s health charity dedicated to saving and changing the lives of women, girls and babies through pioneering research, the royal family shared on Instagram. “I’m delighted to take on this role. I have a vested interest in it,” she expressed.

Addressing the impossible standards of fitness and beauty imposed on women, she further said, “We’ve got to be fit, we’ve got to be clever, we’ve got to be looking skinny, we’ve got to looking beautiful. We’ve got to look 25 years old for the rest of our lives. But unfortunately our bodies are going, ‘That’s fine, you can do all of that on the outside as much as you possibly can or afford to, but on the inside, things are a little different.'”

She called for a more inclusive representation of ageing women in media. “Whilst all of our media and the messaging about women’s bodies, about our looks, everything is very superficial. And we’re trying to cling on to all of that for as long as we possibly can.”