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Duchess Sophie has made her mark in the royal family as one of the most active members and her devotion to charities. However, once upon a time, Prince Edward\u2019s wife was relentlessly compared to another royal: Princess Diana.<\/p>\n
The topic was talked about in True Royalty TV\u2019s\u00a0The Royal Beat\u2014Book Club<\/em><\/a>. British TV personality Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen noted the similarities in their appearances in the 1990s. \u201cThere were a lot of very unfair comparisons made between the way that Sophie looked and the way that Diana was and Diana looked,\u201d he said, via Marie Claire.<\/p>\n More from StyleCaster<\/strong><\/p>\n During the mid-90s, Diana and Sophie<\/a> were indistinguishable by their blonde bob. \u201cI mean, it didn\u2019t help that the vogue, fashionable hairstyle of the time was identical. They both had it. And the bob or whatever it was called in those days,\u201d Sean Smith, author of\u00a0Sophie: Saving the Royal Family<\/a><\/em> said. Despite the hairstyle dopplegangers, there was one difference that the public could see. \u201cDiana was about a foot taller than Sophie.\u201d<\/p>\n Their backgrounds could not be more different. Smith recalled that Diana\u2019s upbringing was \u201cvery front-rank aristocracy,\u201d but she was \u201ccrucially from a very broken home and a very unhappy home,\u201d he said. Sophie, in comparison, \u201cgrew up in this very warm, suburban, middle-class, comforting, very supportive environment.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cDiana grew up within the ranks of the royal family\u2014she was so young\u2014whereas Sophie had, to a certain extent, had a life before she walked down the aisle at St. George\u2019s [Chapel], and boyfriends,\u201d Smith continued.<\/p>\n However, the relationship between the senior working royal and Edward\u2019s girlfriend at the time was pretty shake. Diana reportedly \u201cso intensely\u201d stared at Sophie at a family function that Sophie was left in tears. Royal biographer Judy Wade claimed that Prince Charles\u2019s then-wife \u201cwould often mutter, \u2018Oh look, here comes my double,\u2019\u201d referring to Sophie.<\/p>\n Related: Duchess Sophie Subtly Took a Side in William & Harry\u2019s Feud Amid Reports He Caused \u2018Irreparable Harm\u2019 to the Royals<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n Sophie also acknowledged the strong resemblance when she told The Daily Mail<\/em>, \u201cI don\u2019t deny that we do look alike. But I couldn\u2019t ever compete with Diana\u2019s image. I\u2019m not Diana.\u201d<\/p>\n Even behind the scenes, there seemed to be hidden tensions between the women. \u201cEvery time an animated Sophie started to say something, Diana would begin speaking, which meant that Sophie had to stop,\u201d Smith wrote. \u201cIt is a tradition that if a more senior royal starts talking, the junior royal has to keep quiet.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAfter what seemed like an age of being silenced by Diana, Sophie could stand no more and, having obtained the Queen\u2019s permission to leave, strode back to Edward\u2019s apartment seething with rage,\u201d he continued. \u201cOn another occasion, she ran back to the apartment in floods of tears after a dinner at which Diana spent the whole time blatantly and intently staring at her. Sophie would do her utmost to avoid Diana if she possibly could.\u201d<\/p>\n Nearly three decades since their marriage, experts are coining their own new term for\u00a0Duchess Sophie<\/a>\u00a0 and Prince Edward as the \u201croyal family\u2019s secret weapon.\u201d According to royal commentator Afua Hagan, Duchess Sophie, 59, has reached this status because of her ability to connect with people during her numerous engagements<\/a> since King Charles\u2019s cancer diagnosis. She often works behind the scenes, while her husband, Prince Edward, has started stepping into the spotlight in his own way. Hagan told\u00a0Us Weekly<\/a>\u00a0that Prince Edward, now 61, feels \u201creally privileged\u201d to attend public-facing royal events \u201con behalf\u201d of King Charles III and Prince William.<\/p>\n