Kate Middleton is, reportedly, relying on Sophie, Countess of Wessex for help and support now that Meghan Markle is no longer a senior working member of the royal family.
A source recently told New Idea that the Duchess of Cambridge is grateful to Prince Edward’s wife for stepping up.
“She’s a calm yet glamorous pair of hands to help Kate out with attending public engagements,” the source said.
Following Prince Harry and Markle’s decision to quit, Sophie also transitioned to becoming a more visible and active member of the royal family.
Earlier this year, Middleton, reportedly, started to feel overwhelmed with her news duties and engagements after the Duke and Duchess of Sussex quit. But she was lucky to have Sophie there.
In fact, Sophie has been so supportive of Middleton that she also participated in the latter’s Hold Still photography competition. Unfortunately, Sophie’s photo didn’t make it to the top 100 list of photos that the Duchess of Cambridge personally chose.
On the Royally Obsessed podcast, experts Rachel Bowie and Roberta Fiorito said that there’s a reason for the snub.
“Sophie, Countess of Wessex was the only royal relative that we know of to have submitted a photo to Kate’s project, but her picture didn’t get chosen. It would have felt a little too insider if Sophie did get picked,” Fiorito.
“That is true, it would have been a little bit of nepotism,” Bowie added.
Meanwhile, even before Markle quit The Firm, Sophie and Middleton have already been close.
While speaking with Express, body language expert Judi James said that Sophie and Middleton also share one similarity. Other than being likened to Princess Diana, they are both wonderful allies for Queen Elizabeth.
“When Sophie married Edward she was hailed as the new Diana. But what followed looked like a masterclass in hunkering in as the soap-opera-free royal bride who managed to be a stabilizing influence on her husband while keeping press and royal fan attention to a minimum. Sophie is also said to be a close ally of her mother-in-law the Queen and in terms of her body language she tends to blend some of the signals of the kind of laid-back calm and fun that we get from Zara Tindall with the stoic, deft formality of the Queen herself,” she said.