Duchess Sophie Jokes She Could ‘Swim’ in a Cask of Port Wine — Then Makes a Splash [Watch]
Duchess Sophie showed off her sense of humor with a lighthearted port wine comment during the final day of her Portugal visit.
Duchess Sophie shared a delightfully candid moment on the final leg of her three-day tour of Portugal with her husband, Prince Edward. Wrapping up their visit, the royal couple stopped at Graham's Port Lodge in Porto, where they took part in a centuries-old tradition by helping to baptize a cask of port.
Sophie led the way during the ceremony and poured a glass of port wine over the cask before Edward took his turn. The ritual is actually something of a royal tradition, and several members of the family have done the same before. The Duchess admired the bottle for a while before saying, “We could swim in it.” She continued the joke by adding, “Or we could cradle it,” while making a cradling motion. Watch the video here.
Over the course of the three-day visit, the light-hearted moment came at the end of a tour focused on the deep-rooted connection between Portugal and the UK, with stops in both Lisbon and Porto. Mayor Pedro Duarte was among those who greeted the royal couple during their visit to Porto. Speaking at Town Hall, he said, "We are celebrating not only a nation's friendship but also a shared commitment to freedom, the rule of law, and the values that bring our people together."
Prior to the port wine ceremony, Sophie and Edward were presented with the keys to Porto—a gesture the Duke described as "a great honour." As one of the city's most prestigious distinctions, the Keys to the City have been awarded to only a handful of individuals over the last five years, with French President Emmanuel Macron being the most recent recipient.
The Duke of Edinburgh thanked his hosts for the recognition and revealed that it was Sophie's first visit to Porto. He said, "Thank you very much indeed for this very great honor. To be presented with the keys is a token of immense trust, and we are deeply honored."
The tour’s final day included a meaningful stop for Prince Edward at the Oporto British School. The Duke attended an open day for the Duke of Edinburgh’s International Award, meeting several young people enrolled in the scheme. Edward has served as the organization's patron since 2023, following in the footsteps of his late father, Prince Philip, who helped launch the award decades ago.
To celebrate the long-standing friendship between the UK and Portugal, Prince Edward and Duchess Sophie began their royal visit in Lisbon. A major highlight was opening a special exhibition commemorating the 640th anniversary of the Treaty of Windsor, where they met with local dignitaries and community organizations. The couple also embraced the city's charm by taking a ride on one of Lisbon’s famous yellow trams.
