Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh Spends Day Three in Zambia With Women Rangers
Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh spent the third day of her Zambia tour with rangers and sniffer dogs in the Lower Zambezi.
The visit on Wednesday centered on Conservation Lower Zambezi, a nonprofit group that works against poaching and protects local ecosystems, according to Town & Country. The duchess is in the middle of a six-day trip that continues through Friday. That timing puts the conservation stop at the heart of the week.
The palace says the duchess is in the Republic of Zambia from Monday, Sept. 14 to Friday, Sept. 19, 2026. The stated purpose is to celebrate the relationship between Zambia and the United Kingdom, according to Royal.uk. The program points to shared interests in gender equality, climate and nature, and education and research partnerships. Those three themes have shaped the public schedule so far.
The route takes her from Lusaka, the capital, to the Lower Zambezi and on to Livingstone. An early listing also noted a meeting at Community House. The day-three coverage focused on the Lower Zambezi leg.
In the Lower Zambezi, the duchess met the Kufadza Female Scouts. They are Zambia's first all-women ranger unit. The unit works in protection and patrol work that has long been led by men.
The scouts showed how they find and remove wire snares set for wild animals. Snares are simple wire loops. They trap antelope and other animals, and they can injure or kill lions, elephants and other wildlife that blunder into them. Removal takes patience and close tracking.
She also stopped at the group's canine detection unit. Dogs there are trained to scent ivory, pangolin scales, rhino horn, firearms and ammunition. Handlers ran a scent demonstration for the duchess. The dogs did the showing off.
The day also included a roundtable with Conservation Lower Zambezi and Wildlife Crime Prevention. A roundtable is a small discussion, not a ceremony. The topic was women's leadership in conservation, a direct link to the morning with the scouts.
The wider itinerary includes a meeting with Zambian President Hakainde Hichilema. That is the standard head-of-state call on an official visit abroad. It also includes a stop at Mosi-oa-Tunya, also known as Victoria Falls. The waterfall sits near Livingstone and draws visitors from around the world.
What makes this stand out is the throughline. Day three paired wildlife protection with the women doing the work, from patrols to snare wire to the discussion table. For readers in the United States, it is a clear look at how working members of Britain's royal family spend time abroad: site visits, short briefings and long walks with the people who do the daily work.
