THE QUEEN'S SAVING GRACE
She’s rising through the royal ranks
For almost 20 years, Prince Edward’s wife Sophie, Countess of Wessex, has quietly and confidently devoted her life to the royal family, dutifully carrying out engagements for the Queen at home and abroad while raising her children away from the harsh glare of the public eye.
But now, with senior royal numbers dwindling, the 55-year-old is set to take a starring role – and no-one is happier than the Queen herself, who has always had a soft spot for her youngest son's wife.
“Sophie is a longtime favourite of the Queen and has been singled out as a person the palace would like to help ease the burden,” an insider tells Woman'sDay. “She's very popular with other senior royals like Prince Charles and Camilla, and has proved to be extremely good at public engagements.”
As the royals come to terms with w their new reality after the shock exit of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, an expert last week warned they're in danger of becoming “seriously understaffed”. With Prince Harry and Meghan starting their new life in Canada and Prince Andrew stood down over his disastrous friendship with w paedophile Jeffrey Epstein, royal author Phil
Dampier said they needed to act decisively to ensure the continuing success of the monarchy. He believed former PR woman Sophie would be the perfect person to take on a greater role.
“Prince Philip is retired at 98, the Queen is nearly 94, and Charles and Camilla are in their 70s. Princess Anne will turn 70 in August, and the Duke of Kent and Princess Alexandra are in their 80s. So who is going to take over the hundreds of patronages?”
He insists that as one of the Queen’s most-trusted allies, Sophie – who is mum to Lady Louise Windsor, 16, and James, Viscount Severn, 12 – is destined to become “a star in her own right”.
Given Edward, who turns 56 next month, is the only one of the Queen’s four children not to divorce, the couple are seen as a safe and reliable pair of hands.
“Recently Sophie has been on several overseas trips and done fantastically well,” Phil continues. “Now that her children are a bit older I think there could be a great role for her to play. I think she wants to do more and would happily step up to the plate and take over more duties if asked.
“Charles has to realise that you can slim down too much, and they are running out of royals to do the nittygritty work. Sophie would be perfect to take up some of the slack and I think she has the potential to be a royal superstar given the chance.”
It’s almost two decades since the countess was embroiled in the now-infamous “fake sheik” scandal, where she was lured to a meeting under the pretence of securing a lucrative PR contract. In the secretly recorded tapes that resulted, the royal criticised then-Prime Minister Tony Blair and his wife Cherie. Immediately stepping down from the communications firm she founded, Sophie released a statement apologising for misjudgement, and insiders say from then on she has devoted her life to serving the monarchy.
“From that moment, she focused only on her family, her royal duty and the causes she’s passionate about. She vowed never to put herself in a situation where she could be manipulated like that ever again.”
She and the Queen have a close relationship – with Sophie explaining in 2015 that living at the royal residence of Bagshot Park in Surrey, close to Windsor Castle, meant her children see a lot of their grandmother.
“We are a lot more fortunate because we live so much closer to the Queen, so when she spends a lot of time at Windsor, our children are more fortunate because they can go out and have tea with her on a regular basis. And Louise goes over there riding, so she sees quite a lot of us.”
And the fact that Sophie is often seen sitting beside the Queen in her Rolls-Royce on their way to church is yet another sign of the monarch’s affection for her.
A former royal equerry said, “If Sophie is staying at Sandringham, then you can pretty much guarantee the Queen will ask her – usually last thing on a Saturday night – if she would like ‘a lift’ to the church.
“And the same happens at Balmoral. The Queen likes to be completely calm before church and she finds Sophie’s presence soothing.”
If she does indeed step up into a more prominent role, there’s no doubt she’ll bring a dash of glamour with her. Lauded for her impeccable style, Sophie has a fondness for soft hues, floral prints and matching millinery. Like the Duchess of Cambridge, UK-based Kiwi designer Emilia Wickstead is said to be her all-time favourite.
Says our source, “Sophie loves fashion and unlike some of the other younger royals, she’s never relied on a stylist to dress her. She has a great eye and never puts a foot wrong.”