The Duchess of Edinburgh, the wife of King Charles III's brother, visited Iraq this week, where she met the Prime Minister, the President of the Republic and women's organisations, on a rare trip for a member of the British royal family to Baghdad.

And Prince Philip, the late husband of Queen Elizabeth, made a surprise visit in 2006 to the British forces that were deployed in Iraq at the time as part of an international coalition led by Washington that toppled Saddam Hussein's regime three years earlier. Prince Charles, who was crowned king in early May, made a similar visit in 2004.

Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh, visited Baghdad for two days, where she met President Abdul Latif Rashid and the First Lady, according to a statement issued by the Iraqi presidency on Tuesday. The statement said Rashid had received "a message in writing from His Majesty King Charles III of the United Kingdom".

The Duchess also met, on a visit that was kept secret until its end on Tuesday, Prime Minister Mohamed Shiaa Al-Sudani.

She also delivered a speech during a conference on women's rights organized by the British Embassy in Baghdad. A statement issued by Buckingham Palace on Tuesday indicated that "the Duchess also met during the conference with local organizations to defend women's rights."

The Duchess also visited a girls' school in Baghdad, where she met the students and their teachers, according to the statement.

Sophie is the wife of Prince Edward, the younger brother of King Charles III, who was granted the title of Duke of Edinburgh in March, which was the title of Prince Philip until his death in 2021.

Elizabeth died in September 2022 after a seventy-year reign, the longest in the history of the British monarchy.