Duchess Sophie announces new project with very heartwarming reason behind it

The Duchess of Edinburgh will read a heartwarming bedtime story about a lion who embraces his new glasses for CBeebies on October 10. The move will commemorate World Sight Day.

In a trailer for the CBeebies programme, Duchess Sophie said: "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."

'Specs for Rex' is the story of a little lion who does not want to wear his new glasses to school. He tries to hide them, however this is tricky as they are so big, round and red. His new glasses end up winning him a gold star, a new friend and most importantly, help him to see better.

The Duchess of Edinburgh is known to be passionate about supporting the sight loss community and eliminating avoidable blindness.

Last October, Sophie visited Ethiopia to support efforts to combat deficiencies in eyesight health.

During her visit, she described that the "incredible goal" of beating the eye disease trachoma by 2030 was very possible thanks to efforts being made in the African country and beyond.

At the time, Sophie said: "So much has been achieved both here in Ethiopia and around the world. But now is the time that we must all redouble our efforts if we are to achieve our aim of eliminating trachoma by the year 2030, which is a mere six years away. We must not let ourselves become defocused or complacent.

"We are on the cusp of achieving something almost unimaginable in previous years. Every person involved in this vital work has reason to be so very proud of each and every accomplishment.

"We are creeping closer to our incredible goal, and I urge you all to keep your eyes on the prize and to make this disease so awful that it is worthy of mention in the Bible a thing of the past and give our communities the gift of sight."