Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh Follows Kate Middleton's Lead with Rare Media Appearance

Sophie, the Duchess of Edinburgh will appear on a children's show to read a bedtime story for a special cause, just like Kate Middleton did nearly two years ago.

On Oct. 4, BBC announced that the Duchess of Edinburgh, 59, will read a CBeebies Bedtime Story for the program of the same name for World Sight Day on Thursday, Oct. 10. Prince Edward's wife is a passionate advocate for the sight loss community, and the elimination of avoidable blindness is a priority of her royal work.

"Millions of us need glasses to see the world clearly. World Sight Day is a reminder to all of us to take care of our eyes, whether we need glasses or not. Our eyes are precious, and our sight is something to cherish and look after. So, let’s remember to take care of our eyes this World Sight Day," Sophie said in a trailer for CBeebies Bedtime Stories, the network said. 

BBC said that the Duchess of Edinburgh will read the book Specs for Rex by Yasmeen Ismail for World Sight Day. The book is about a little lion who felt apprehensive about wearing new glasses before learning just how much they made his life better. The statement came with a new photo of Sophie smiling and wearing eyeglasses while holding a yellow smiling emoji pillow in a cozy room, with light up stars and other stuffed animals around her.

​Sophie put her passion into action for the sight loss community after becoming a parent. Her daughter, Lady Louise Windsor, 20, was born premature and had surgery for esotropia, a condition in which one or both eyes point inward. In the years since, Sophie's charitable work on behalf of premature infants and avoidable eye conditions has taken her around the world. She supports several organizations related to eye care and is known to commemorate World Sight Day.

The Duchess of Edinburgh's upcoming cameo on CBeebies Bedtime Stories will mark a rare media appearance, and she'll follow in Princess Kate's footsteps by participating in the program for a cause close to her heart.

In February 2022, the Princess of Wales, 42, joined the popular kids' show, which features a different celebrity reading a bedtime story each week, to mark Children's Mental Health Week in the U.K. Princess Kate read The Owl Who Was Afraid of the Dark by Jill Tomlinson, which follows a baby barn owl on an adventure to overcome a fear of the dark. 

The royal later revealed through Queen Camilla's online book club that The Owl Who Was Afraid of the Dark was a favorite book from her own childhood, and that she enjoyed reading it to her children Prince George, 11, Princess Charlotte, 9, and Prince Louis, 6, whom she shares with husband Prince William. 

"I loved this book as a little girl, and listening to my own children reading it has brought back so many wonderful memories. A comforting story to help children face their fears and grow in confidence with the help of others," Princess Kate said that March. 

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Even as her children have grown older, the confidence-boosting story is apparently still a favorite on Princess Kate's shelf. Last year, the royal brought 50 copies of the book when she visited Sebby’s Corner baby bank in Barnet, northwest London a few weeks before Christmas. 

"It was so lovely that she brought the books. They were a book that she said she enjoyed reading with her children," Bianca Sakol, founder and CEO of Sebby’s Corner, told PEOPLE at the time.

While fans will have to wait another week to see Sophie read Specs for Rex, another organization with a royal connection shared the exciting news that the duchess will be their new patron.

"We're proud to announce that HRH The Duchess of Edinburgh is our new patron," Girlguiding revealed on X on Oct. 3. "The Duchess has been a passionate supporter of Girlguiding for many years since taking over the role of president from Princess Margaret in 2003."

The U.K. scouts' group for girls was memorably supported by the late Queen Elizabeth beginning in 1953. Then Princess Elizabeth was a Guide scout when she was a young girl. The new patronage links Sophie to her late mother-in-law in another sentimental way, as Sophie's Duchess of Edinburgh title is what the future Queen Elizabeth was styled by following her marriage to Prince Philip in 1947 and before her accession in 1952.