The Duchess of Edinburgh has made a special appearance on the long-running British radio soap opera The Archers.
Sophie, 61, visited BBC Studios at the Mailbox in Birmingham in May, where she met members of the cast, including Tim Bentick, David Troughton and Susie Riddell, before recording her part for the episode.
Prince Edward’s wife was pictured in a longline teal dress as she looked over a script during the studio visit.
She was also seen sharing a laugh with cast members from the popular BBC Radio 4 drama, apparently after the recording session had wrapped.
Sophie is not the first member of the royal family to step into the world of Ambridge. Princess Margaret made a surprise cameo on the programme in 1984.
The late Queen’s sister joined The Archers cast in June 1984, playing herself as a VIP guest at a fundraising fashion show in Ambridge, the fictional English village where the series is set.
The Archers first aired as a pilot episode on the Midlands Home Service on May 29, 1950, before being broadcast nationwide from January 1, 1951.
Unlike Sophie, who travelled to the West Midlands for her recording, Princess Margaret recorded her lines from a makeshift studio set up in the library at Kensington Palace.
The Duchess of Edinburgh starred on BBC’s The Archers after making a secret trip to BBC Studios in Birmingham
The royal visited the BBC Studios in the Mailbox, Birmingham, in May
The show, which was once the BBC’s most listened-to non-news programme, is set in the fictional county of Borsetshire.
In real life, the village would be positioned between Worcestershire and Warwickshire in the Midlands, just south of Birmingham.
It comes after Sophie debuted a dramatic new hairstyle earlier this month as she visited Hertfordshire for an agricultural festival.
Attendees were unlikely to have missed her new look, with the mother-of-two sporting a short, fuss-free bob.
The duchess had several inches of her hair cut as her blonde tresses skimmed her shoulders.
Sophie, whose reading glasses were perched on her head, opted to wear a denim midi skirt with a blue blouse from Penelope Chilvers as she greeted spectators at the Groundswell Regenerative Agriculture Festival in Hitchin.
With Britain facing balmy temperatures, it’s understandable why Sophie might have wanted a shorter hairdo.
Pictured: Duchess of Edinburgh met Charles Collingwood (right), who plays Brian Aldridge in The Archers
Pictured: The Duchess of Edinburgh with cast members Tim Bentnick (left) and David Troughton (right) as they record the episode of the Radio 4 drama
Sophie finished her look with a pair of tan boots and simple gold accessories, as she was photographed at Lannock Farm in Weston for the two-day agriculture festival aimed at promoting sustainable farming methods.
It was the first time Sophie had been pictured with short hair, as the mother-of-two wore a hat during a recent carriage driving competition at Sandringham.
She donned a straw boater to match her beige blazer for the annual Sandringham Horse Driving Trials on the King’s royal Norfolk estate, making it hard to discern whether Sophie had already had her hair cut.
However, Sophie likely visited her stylist sometime after returning from Jersey on June 24, when her locks still fell past her shoulders.
