Sophie was also shown some of the skulls displayed at the site as a reminder of the horror of the atrocity.

Sophie views photographs of victims of the genocide . The countess, who has been carrying out an official visit to the neighbouring Democratic Republic of the Congo, travelled to Rwanda on Wednesday.

She described the memorial as “very moving” in a message in the book of condolence. “A very moving and fitting tribute to those who were lost, but with hope for the future,” she wrote, signing her message “Sophie”.

A message written by the countess in the book of condolence (Jane Barlow/PA)

In 1994, hundreds of thousands of members of the Tutsi community were slaughtered in Rwanda by ethnic Hutu extremists.

In total 800,000 people, including three quarters of the country’s minority Tutsi population, died during 100 days of slaughter in Rwanda that year.