Miles away from her job as a high-flying PR executive for Capital Radio, Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh, has become a leading member of the Royal Family known for her down-to-earth nature and close relationship with the late Queen.
But in her early days as a working royal, Sophie had to prove herself as a worthy companion for the Queen’s youngest son, Edward, amid the backdrop of divorce in the family and the death of Diana, Princess of Wales.
Biographer Sean Smith wrote in his book, Sophie: Saving the Royal Family: ‘Sophie was a practical listener and observer and she absorbed how to be a proper Royal, accepted by everyone, by watching the Queen at work.
‘The Queen was also an excellent role model for understanding a sense of duty.’
Just two years after her marriage to Prince Edward, Sophie was sensationally caught up in a humiliating ‘sting’ operation engineered by the News of the World after talking with a ‘Fake Sheikh’ posing as a potential client.
Her taped indiscretions about senior politicians were highly embarrassing. This marked the end of Sophie’s PR career, which may have been a blessing in disguise, allowing her to focus on royal engagements.
Smith wrote: ‘The Queen was willing to ignore the media storm over Sophie’s Fake Sheikh, but that did not mean she was able to escape being at the wrong end of the “look”.
‘She was at a Palace state banquet and was still fussing around trying to find her seat when the Queen rose to speak.’
Miles away from her job as a high-flying PR executive for Capital Radio, Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh, has become a leading member of the Royal Family known for her down-to-earth nature and close relationship with the late Queen. The two are pictured in 2002
Sophie and the Queen are pictured on the second day of Royal Ascot on June 15, 2016
Smith wrote in his book, Sophie: Saving the Royal Family: ‘Sophie was a practical listener and observer and she absorbed how to be a proper Royal, accepted by everyone, by watching the Queen at work’
Smith continued: ‘The Queen was not amused at having to wait: “I shan’t forget that look,” said her daughter-in-law, who made a mental note never to do that again.’
This faux pas was thankfully avoided on Sophie’s first visit to Windsor Castle while she was dating Edward.
Writing in his biography of the Duchess’s life, Smith revealed the Queen’s alleged first impression of Sophie, remarking that ‘you wouldn’t notice her in the crowd’.
As unflattering and borderline cruel as that might sound, it was a compliment as the most recent additions to the royal family – Diana and Sarah Ferguson – were, according to Smith, ‘tabloid gifts that kept on giving’.
‘It was greatly to Sophie’s advantage to maintain a low profile.
‘She would have to face intense media scrutiny in the future, but for the moment she could quietly establish herself as a dependable presence.’
To prepare for the visit, Edward’s valet Brian gave an ‘anxious’ Sophie advice so she could avoid any of the common faux pas visitors encounter when meeting the royals for the first time.
Smith highlighted one common mistake people make at the end of a meal when diners receive a ‘crystal bowl of water’ for cleaning their hands with a knife to cut up fruit on offer.
Sophie and Prince Edward are pictured on their wedding day on June 19, 1999
The Queen and Sophie are pictured at St Mary Magdalene Church in Sandringham on December 25, 2001
Writing in his biography of the Duchess’s life, Smith revealed the Queen’s alleged first impression of Sophie, remarking that ‘you wouldn’t notice her in the crowd’. This was meant as a compliment
‘Those guests not in the know would spend a number of agonising minutes, red-faced, chasing around bits of peaches and kiwi fruits that they had mistakenly placed in the water,’ Smith said.
Suitably prepared for her visit, Sophie arrived at the palace not by chauffeur but in her ‘old’ Fiat Panda.
Sophie was then immediately thrown into the deep end when she joined Queen Elizabeth II for lunch.
Although she had been told the meal would take place in a large dining room with minimal contact with the Queen, that proved to be a ‘white lie’ from Brian.
Smith said: ‘The room was tiny and the Queen was certainly not a speck at the other end of the table.
‘The big moment arrived. Edward introduced Sophie to the Queen and the brief handshake and curtsy were over in the blink of an eye: all that practising at home had been worth it.’
Once the meal was over and any faux pas had been avoided, Smith likened the whole experience to a visit to the dentist.
‘Never as bad as you think it is going to be and something you feel pleased with yourself for having done,’ he wrote.
Sophie is pictured with Queen Elizabeth II at the Royal Academy of Arts on May 23, 2012
Sophie and the Queen embrace at the Royal Windsor Horse Show in 2015
‘Quietly, and without fuss, the Queen began to rely on Sophie for female company after both Princess Margaret and the Queen Mother died within such a short space of time,’ wrote Smith
Smith wrote: ‘Sophie was astute enough to understand that to be properly accepted as more than Edward’s wife, she needed to be part of the family and do more than hang around, smiling and curtsying correctly.
‘She set about embracing the pursuits most enjoyed by the Queen and, just as importantly, by Prince Philip too.
‘Quietly, and without fuss, the Queen began to rely on Sophie for female company after both Princess Margaret and the Queen Mother died within such a short space of time.
‘Sophie could pop round to Windsor Castle in ten minutes to watch TV or stay up late discussing history enthusiastically with her mother-in-law.
‘It wasn’t duty. Sophie loved to do it.’
After the death of Prince Philip, Edward’s wife earned the title of the monarch’s ‘safest pair of hands’, taking on a more prominent public role, often speaking to the media on behalf of the Queen and the Royal Family.
Sophie became a confidante of the Queen, who relied on her more than others in her inner circle, including the then-Duchess of Cornwall.
Smith wrote: ‘Sophie was astute enough to understand that to be properly accepted as more than Edward’s wife, she needed to be part of the family and do more than hang around, smiling and curtsying correctly’
Sophie is pictured during the Queen’s state funeral at Westminster Abbey on September 19, 2022
When the Queen passed away, Sophie was heartbroken, with her and Edward describing their loss for the woman they both called ‘Mama’ as leaving ‘an unimaginable void in all our lives‘.
Formerly the Countess of Wessex, Sophie became the Duchess of Edinburgh in 2023 when King Charles granted the Duke of Edinburgh title to his younger brother, Edward.
In recent years, Sophie has played a key role in holding the monarchy together amid family feuds, the Duke of York’s scandals and the cancer diagnoses of the King and the Princess of Wales.
Nicknamed Super Sophie by fans, the Duchess’s popularity has soared and she is ranked the fifth most popular royal, according to YouGov data.
Undertaking more than 200 engagements a year, Sophie has earned her title as the Firm’s ‘safest pair of hands’, adopting the Queen’s sense of duty.
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‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.celebrity.land.co.uk ’
