![]() You can see that from the sheer number of engagements that she’s been doing over the last year.” “So, I think she’s a real strength there. “Thanks to Sophie’s guidance, Edward has a better public image,” says Irving. Wessex is also seen as an asset to her husband. ![]() She’s seen as discreet, loyal, hardworking, and is seen as a real asset to the family.” “She was very, very close to the Queen and people talk about her as the Queen’s second daughter. But Norton says “since 2002, hasn’t put a foot wrong”. “Until Harry and Meghan left the Royal Family, Prince Edward and Sophie were sort of non-entities,” says Owens. The Earl and Countess of Wessex on the Balcony of Buckingham Palace (Photo: Tim Graham/ Photo Library via Getty Images) And after the death of Prince Philip in 2021, Sophie was trusted enough to speak on the behalf of the family on Radio 5 Live, talking about her memories of the Duke. In a 2019 speech at Buckingham Palace, Wessex referred to the late monarch as “Mama”. She continued with her job in public relations until April 2001 when a News of The World reporter recorded her being indiscreet about royal family members and she stepped down.ĭecades on and Sophie has become a well-trusted member of the inner circle and a reported “favourite” of the Queen. Following her marriage to the Queen’s youngest son in 1999, Sophie stayed relatively under the radar. Sophie, Countess of Wessex, has not always had such a central role to play. I think this is set to continue.” More from News “Our best monarchs have been extremely strong women who have left their mark in a way that no man ever has. “Women have always been the weathermakers in the Royal Family,” he says. Within the smaller group that is left behind, the women are going to become valuable resources that King Charles should not underestimate, says Clive Irving, author of The Last Queen. “It says a lot about just how damaging Harry and Megan’s departure has been for the monarchy.” Prince Charles is also no longer able to publicly rely on his brother, the Duke of York, after he was forced to step back from working life after his Newsnight interview in November 2019. “Charles has really had to draw on individuals quite heavily that he previously wouldn’t have done,” Ed Owens, royal historian and journalist, tells i. ![]() These other members would Camilla, the Queen Consort, his siblings Princess Anne and the Earl and Countess of Wessex and his eldest son Prince William and his spouse, the Princess of Wales. It is important to remember that royal commentators have long speculated about King Charles III’s reported plans to reduce the number of working royals to a core contingent of just seven, including himself. Meghan and Prince Harry speak with well-wishers at Windsor Castle on September 10 (Photo by Chris Jackson – WPA Pool/Getty Images) In the inevitable reshaping of the monarchy that will take place in the coming months and years, can the public expect to see more of the Windsor women or is this current choreography simply the product of a family being drawn together in mourning, stepping into roles at a time of crisis, rather than setting future expectations? But, during the period of national mourning, the Windsor women have been hypervisible: the Princess Royal, Princess Anne stood guard by the Queen’s coffin at St Giles’ Cathedral in Edinburgh the Princess of Wales Kate Middleton shook hands with the public at Sandringham Sophie Wessex read tributes left at Balmoral and the Duchess of Sussex, Meghan Markle, collected flowers from well-wishers at Windsor. The matriarchal household is no more, as the reins of power are handed to a new generation of Windsors. Not only does the British crown now belong to a man but also the line of succession is dominated by male figures – William, the Prince of Wales, at the top, and his nine-year-old son Prince George of Wales in second place. The Queen’s death on 8 September brought to an end 70 years of a woman on the throne, being replaced by her 73-year-old son, King Charles III.
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