The Duchess of Edinburgh burst into tears during her second trip abroad in two weeks.
Sophie, 59, met with refugees on the border of war-torn Sudan and broke down after hearing the horrific stories of sexual violence.
The mother-of-two wept after hearing the “devastating” stories from women who have been subjected to sexual violence and rape by soldiers as a terror tactic in a brutal war.
To escape the atrocities, the women fled to neighbouring Chad, where Sophie spoke with them.
PA
She hugged five of the survivors after they detailed how they had been raped in exchange for food and water.
They also revealed how their daughters had been through similar harrowing experiences.
With tears in her eyes, the duchess said: “I daren’t even describe to you what they’ve been doing to children.
“It’s not just about the sexual violence, which is horrific because they’re having to exchange food and water for sex, and if they don’t they kill them.
The Duchess of Edinburgh during a visit to Chad where she met refugees crossing the border from Sudan
PA
“These women have no option but to leave. And even then they’re lucky.
“If they can get away, because some of the villages and towns that they come from, they can’t even leave their houses any more. If they leave their houses they get killed.”
Sophie told The Sun after meeting with a “silent” girl on the Sudanese border: “It’s heartbreaking. You have no idea what they have been through.
“That little girl was so silent and it worried me because of what I’ve just heard now.
The duchess’s visit to Chad marks the first time a royal has visited the country
PA
The Duchess of Edinburgh was overcome with emotion
PA
“It really worried me. Because I haven’t shared with you some of what they told me in there, which was why I was quite wobbly when I came in.
“I can’t share – I don’t think you would even want to print it in your publications, to be honest with you. But what they do to the children is… I can’t even use the words. So I can only assume that they are young.
“That little girl that we were talking to – now that I’ve spoken to them [the women] I worry what she has either encountered or what she has witnessed.
“Because what they have all witnessed is complete atrocity.”