Duchess Sophie makes a splash as she throws a glass of port on last day in Portugal

The Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh rounded off their three-day visit to Portugal by “baptising” a cask of port.
The couple splashed wine over the cask in a ceremony at Graham’s Port Lodge in Porto at the end of the final day of their trip.

After a countdown of three, two, one, Sophie was the first to splash a glass of port onto the wooden barrel, closely followed by her husband. The couple are the latest in a line of royal visitors to take part in the time-honoured tradition – the latest being the Duke of Kent.

Admiring a huge bottle of port, Sophie joked: “We could swim in it!” It was a fitting end to a tour which had taken the couple from the capital, Lisbon, to the historic city of Porto in celebration of a centuries old alliance between Portugal and the UK.

Earlier in the day, they had been handed the keys to the city of Porto – something Prince Edward described as “a great honour”.

They were greeted at the Town Hall by a guard of honour and welcomed by the mayor Pedro Duarte, who told them: “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.”

The Keys to the City is one of Porto’s highest honours, which over the past five years has been awarded to just nine people, including French President Emmanuel Macron.

© Alamy Stock Photo

“Thank you very much indeed for this very great honour,” Edward told his hosts, explaining that it was his wife’s first visit to the Porto. “To be presented with the keys is a token of immense trust and we are deeply honoured.”

Learn more about Edward and Sophie’s Portugal visit below…

The final day of the tour also saw Edward visit the Oporto British School – the oldest British school in continental Europe – for its Duke of Edinburgh’s International Award Open Day. He succeeded his late father as patron of the youth organisation in 2023.

Meeting students who are preparing for their Gold expedition – the Award’s highest level of achievement – Edward helped a group put up a tent and told one boy, who admitted to getting lost on a previous trip: “You didn’t get lost because you are here – you were temporarily misplaced on the map.”

© PA Images via Getty Images

Edward and Sophie’s visit to Portugal – which began in the capital Lisbon – was in recognition of the deep historic ties between our two countries, formalised by the Treaty of Windsor in 1386.

© PA Images via Getty Images

The marriage a year later between Portugal’s King João and England’s Philippa of Lancaster, who became his Queen, further cemented the Anglo-Portuguese relationship which endures to this day.

During their day in Porto, Edward and Sophie, who the day before had visited the Portuguese King and Queen’s tomb at Batalha Monastery, went to the city’s ancient cathedral where the couple married in 1387. 

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