The Duchess of Edinburgh has visited one of the UK's most exclusive locations after taking on a new role with a show that once gave Queen Camilla "withdrawal symptoms". The county of Borsetshire isn't real, but it holds a special place in thousands of people's hearts as it's the wider setting for the world's longest-running continuous drama, The Archers.
Duchess Sophie travelled to Birmingham to record her cameo appearance on the radio show and fans were given a glimpse of her in rehearsal with the cast on 9th July. The episode is centred on the Borchester Show in Borsetshire's county town and Sophie plays herself, in her role as honorary president of Linking Environment and Farming.
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Her debut on The Archers is part of the drama's 75th anniversary year celebrations and since it first started in 1951, the show has amassed a cult following. Queen Camilla is one of its super fans and has openly described herself as an "Archers addict".
At a reception at Clarence House to mark The Archers' 70th anniversary she gave a speech and admitted that she's "known to become quite ratty if disturbed between 7pm and 7:15pm" when it airs. Recordings had been disrupted during lockdown and Her Majesty added that she'd "had severe withdrawal symptoms when [the radio drama] all but disappeared".
Queen Camilla sees The Archers as her "faithful companion" for a lot of her life and she's also had a cameo appearance. This episode aired in 2011 and she played herself, in her role as President of the National Osteoporosis Society.
Part of the reason why she - and so many other fans - love the BBC Radio 4 drama is the way it raises awareness of real life issues and of "others' hidden struggles". Although the Queen has already appeared on The Archers herself, perhaps she'll feel a pang of jealousy hearing Duchess Sophie on her favourite show.
It could make Camilla dream of making another cameo, which I can imagine the show's creators would be more than happy for her to do. The rural setting fits in perfectly with the Royal Family's love of the outdoors and Sophie is a long-time fan of the programme and a big supporter of countryside shows.
The Duchess of Edinburgh co-designed the Plants With Purpose Garden for the Royal Windsor Flower Show this year and in an interview with Alan Titchmarsh she spoke about her love for the shows across the UK.
"We're lucky to have these wonderful little shows in villages and towns around our country, and I remember, when I was growing up, taking my boxes of flowers and actually very terrible floral displays for the competitions," she explained in the piece shared with The Telegraph.
Sophie added, "It was the atmosphere. It was a time when we as children were just let off the leash, and walking into that flower show just took me straight back to my childhood."
Now she's been officially welcomed to the fictional Borchester Show too and according to a teaser shared by The Archers beforehand, she definitely "makes [her] mark".
