Sophie, Countess of Wessex
Britain's Sophie, Countess of Wessex is to officially open the new Country Durham and Darlington Fire and Rescue headquarters today (06.11.14).
The 49-year-old royal - who is the wife of Queen Elizabeth's youngest son, Prince Edward - will attend the official opening of the building in Durham, where she will be shown the command and control centre, which has been in operation since last month.
The Countess will watch a number of exercises involving the service's fire investigation dog, Scrappy, an aerial ladder platform and water rescue crews and will also meet with members of the Young Firefighters Association before unveiling a plaque.
Brigade chief executive Susan Johnson told the Northern Echo newspaper: "We are very pleased that the Countess of Wessex is able to visit us to see our new headquarters and hear about the vital work that we are doing."
Her Royal Highness will then to travel to Sunderland Association Football Club's Stadium of Light to promote the proposed Beacon of Light facility, which would be a permanent home for the club's official charity, the Foundation of Light - for which the Countess is patron.
The foundation's chief executive Lesley Spuhler said: "We're delighted to welcome HRH Countess of Wessex back to the North-East to raise awareness of the exciting Beacon of Light project."
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