The Countess of Wessex wants to end the stigma around discussing the menopause.
The Countess of Wessex
The 56-year-old royal - who has two children with her husband the Count of Wessex - revealed how addressing a crowd at a royal event while going through the menopause left her feeling like someone had taken her brain.
Speaking in a video call, Sophie - who has just become patron of Wellbeing of Women, a charity that works to tackle the taboos surrounding periods, the menopause and pregnancy - opened up about the moment she lost her trail of thought during a royal engagement.
She said: “You know, in the middle of a presentation when you suddenly can’t remember what you were talking about... try being on an engagement when that happens – your words just go.
"And you’re standing there and going, ‘hang on, I thought I was a reasonably intelligent person, what has just happened to me?’ It’s like somebody’s just gone and taken your brain out for however long before they pop it back in again and you try and pick up the pieces and carry on.”
And the countess called on better education around the subject for girls of a younger age because something we should be ”celebrating” shouldn't feel like a “shackle”.
She added: “Really, we should be celebrating the fact that we don’t have to have periods any more. It should be a liberation, but it feels like a shackle. It’s described as something incredibly negative.
"I go back to education; how much are young girls actually told at the beginning? When we’re told that we’re going to begin our periods, are we told that they’re going to end as well?”
And she hopes we can get to the stage where the menopause can be as easily discussed as pregnancy.
She said: “The menstrual cycle, periods, the menopause, having babies... We all talk about having babies, but nobody talks about periods [or] the menopause. Why not? We need to... say ‘let’s talk about this.' "
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