Countess of Wessex is secretly volunteering alongside professional chefs making lunches for NHS staff battling the coronavirus pandemic
- She has been working alongside chefs organised by the financier Ian Wace
- His team have been producing a staggering 59,000 free meals every week
- The team provides meals for staff at Barts, King’s, Epsom and St Helier in London
- Here’s how to help people impacted by Covid-19
The Countess of Wessex has been working secretly as a volunteer making lunches for NHS staff during the coronavirus pandemic.
Sophie, wife of the Queen’s son, Prince Edward, has been volunteering once a week alongside professional chefs organised by the millionaire British financier Ian Wace, the Mail can reveal.
His team have been producing a staggering 59,000 free meals a week, working 24-hours a day, for frontline staff in hospitals across Greater London including Barts, King’s, Epsom and St Helier.
According to organisers, the 55-year-old countess, mother to Lady Louise and James, Viscount Severn, has been coming in one day a week, quietly and without fanfare, preparing, cooking and cleaning up.
Sophie (right), wife of the Queen’s son, Prince Edward, has been volunteering once a week alongside professional chefs organised by the millionaire British financier Ian Wace, the Mail can reveal
This week she was packing up pre-prepared vegetables and well as making wraps and lemon and raspberry tarts, wearing a face mask, gloves, whites and an apron.
Peregrine Armstrong-Jones, a society events planner whose firm Bentley’s Entertainments has organised several royal weddings, including most recently Princess Eugenie’s, introduced the countess to the initiative, which he is also involved in.
He said: ‘Sophie’s done a fabulous job. She’s got stuck into everything, cooking, prep work and cleaning. She’s done it privately, without any fanfare, and the staff think she’s incredible.
According to organisers, the 55-year-old countess, mother to Lady Louise and James, Viscount Severn, has been coming in one day a week, quietly and without fanfare, preparing, cooking and cleaning up
‘The team here are giving everything and it’s been a real boost to morale.’
Much of the work has been undertaken in the kitchens at the Chelsea headquarters of asset management firm Marshall Wace in London, who are also meeting the costs of the initiative.
Two meals a day – lunch and dinner – are cooked every day by a team of volunteers and staff from Mealforce under the keen eye of head chef Mark Brown, a former chef to Sir Elton John.
The Countess of Wessex is a huge favourite of the Queen and has been at the forefront of royal family activities to support charitable and community initiatives during the Covid-19 crisis.