Victoria Beckham missed the opening of her first retail store in London yesterday, choosing to travel to New York to make a speech to the United Nations instead.
The fashion designer was this week named as an ambassador for the UNAIDS campaign and told how she had recently realised that her public persona comes with a responsibility to raise awareness for important causes.
Beckham travelled to South Africa as part of the Born Free initiative, which tackles the issue of HIV being transmitted from mothers to their children, and vowed that taking on the role of ambassador would be the "beginning of an incredible journey for me".
"I will do whatever I can to raise awareness. I feel very passionate about this. I recently visited South Africa and was so touched by the women I met and felt inspired. I came home and I knew I had to do something," she said.
"It's taken me to get to 40 to realise I have a responsibility as a woman and as a mother. For some reason, people will listen to me."
