Crouched on her heels, eyes red-rimmed as she studied the floral arrangements and loving messages, the Countess of Wessex seemed lost in thought.
Her deep sorrow was evident in this and every other image seen of her in the days since the Queen died.
And it shouldn’t come as a surprise. Sophie and her mother-in-law were so close that she had become like a “second daughter.”
Indeed, after losing her own mother, Mary Rhys-Jones, to stomach cancer in 2005 at the age of 71, she had affectionately referred to the Queen as “Mommy.”
They spent a lot of time together. Sophie and her husband Prince Edward, the Queen’s youngest son, live with their two children a stone’s throw from Windsor Castle in Bagshot Park. Walking their dogs together was a favorite pastime. They also shared a love of military history and spent hours studying ancient documents at the Royal Archives in Windsor.
Crouched on her heels, eyes red-rimmed as she studied the floral arrangements and loving messages, the Countess of Wessex seemed lost in thought
The seeds of their cherished relationship were sown in 2002 after the Queen lost her sister, Princess Margaret, and then her adored mother, Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother, within weeks. It was such a comfort to have another female relative in her life.
The shocking death of her beloved Philip last year brought the Queen and Sophie even closer, with the monarch often inviting her to take her late husband’s place in the back of the car.
This deep-rooted affection and respect explain why, when the Queen’s closest relatives gathered in Scotland last week to mourn her sudden passing, Sophie was the only blood-free family member – apart from Princess Anne’s husband, Sir Tim Laurence – who stood front and center. of the intimate family group.
Sophie, 57, has quietly and unobtrusively become one of the royal family’s unsung treasures. “Sophie wasn’t born into the aristocracy. She has always worked for a living.
“As countesses go, she’s pretty grounded. And that’s something the royal family needs,” said a royal insider.
There is even a spate of rumors that Sophie and Edward – in line with Philip’s wishes to become the Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh – could be “promoted” to William and Kate’s second-in-command. How far have they both come after the most shaky start. In some ways, Sophie and Edward were the Harry and Meghan of their time.
After losing her own mother, Mary Rhys-Jones, to stomach cancer at the age of 71 in 2005, she had affectionately referred to the Queen as “Mama.”
Like the Sussexes, they insisted on trying to break the mold and forge lucrative commercial careers – she in PR and he in TV production – in tandem with their royal duties.
Then Sophie became sensationally entangled in a humiliating ‘sting’ operation set up by News of the World after speaking to a ‘fake sheik’ posing as a potential client. Her recorded indiscretions about leading politicians were deeply embarrassing.
Edward, for his part, was criticized for trying to cash in on his royal ties in his commercial ventures. Unlike the Sussexes, Sophie and Edward ended their businesses and dug in for royal duties, rebuilding their reputation within the royal family.
The Countess is now the second hardest-working female royal after Anne, and has received praise for her choice for her work on preventable blindness and the issue of sexual violence in war.
A senior Whitehall source told me her defense of the case has been “invaluable.”
“She doesn’t shy away from the questions that need to be asked to the leadership and she keeps her feet in front of the fire,” they say.
Speaking with me in a personal capacity, Baroness Stedman-Scott OBE, Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, has known Sophie for 18 years through a charity helping the long-term unemployed. ‘When she first came to visit us she didn’t want any fuss or fanfare and I just told them to make sure the place was tidy and the toilet was clean. She showed up alone and chatted. She’s so natural’, she says enthusiastically.
There is even a wave of rumors that Sophie and Edward – who in line with Philip’s wishes will become the Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh – could be ‘promoted’ to William and Kate’s second-in-command.
She also has a great sense of humor. We attended an awards ceremony together and when we entered someone whistled a wolf [at her]. She just turned to me and said, “Was that for you?”
Sophie’s image has also changed over the years. The short skirts and ill-fitting High Street suits she preferred as a young PR manager had long since been abolished. Over the past decade, she’s lost weight after hitting the gym and taking up cycling, stepping up her fashion game.
She has enlisted the help of stylist Pandora Delevingne (mother of model and actress Cara) and now prefers collections from Suzannah London and Emilia Wickstead to flatter her physique and English rose color.
Privately educated from a solid middle-class family in Kent (her father is a retired tire salesman), Sophie has indeed become the real deal royal and what the Queen considered to be one of the safest pair of hands in ‘The Firm’.
“She fell into her role so brilliantly and is committed to doing everything right,” said Penny Mountbatten, an old friend, ex-wife of the Queen’s cousin Lord Ivar Mountbatten. ‘At the same time as performing all her royal duties, she is a hands-on mother’ [to Lady Louise, now 18, and James, Viscount Severn, 14] and the most loyal and supportive friend you could ever hope for. Finding the time and balance to get it all right is really genius. I just find her remarkable.’
Sophie, she emphasizes, has a core group of friends from her pre-royal days. “She keeps them all very close. She is godmother to many children and they all feel the same, that she is someone they can always call for advice or guidance,” she adds.
“Being the Queen’s daughter-in-law, and having someone so close to her, could have changed her, but it didn’t. She has never forgotten her roots.’
Another friend, jewelry designer Belinda Scott, whose daughter, Camilla Hadden, was bridesmaid to Sophie and Edward when they married in 1999, agrees. “She’s a very loyal friend who would drop anything to help,” she’s told me before.
“You can sit down with her and she’ll focus and figure it all out with you. And she’s quite practical and logical.’
Sophie is devoted to and fiercely protective of her children as she endured serious medical complications during Louise’s birth and an ectopic pregnancy.
“She’s been through a lot to have her family and she and Edward never relied on nannies. They’ve always had a rule that when they’re at work, one of them is at home with the kids as much as possible,” says Penny Mountbatten.
And because the Queen lived nearby, she spent a lot of time with Louise and James when they were growing up, and often watched Mr Tumble on CBeebies when they were little.
Former England cricket captain Sir Andrew Strauss got to know Sophie during the school run by getting to know their sons.
Privately educated from a solid middle-class family in Kent (her father is a retired tire salesman), Sophie has become the real deal royal and what the Queen considered to be one of the safest pairs of hands in ‘The Firm’
“Sophie is fully involved in all of the parents’ WhatsApp groups,” he says. ‘It must be so difficult when you as a parent are just busy with school things, but on the other hand you are a member of the Royal House. You get the impression that they are determined to give their children the most normal upbringing possible.’
Royal sources tell me that Sophie has become something of a confidante for the new Princess of Wales, who sees Sophie’s admiration for the way she balances royal duties with motherhood. And Sophie also has William’s seal of approval.
“The coming years will be incredibly important for this country,” Mark Foster-Brown, a close family friend and chairman of the Wessex Youth Trust, told me in an interview before the Queen’s death. “Sophie has never sought the limelight, but as we move into the next phase of the monarchy, it will be absolutely crucial for the [then] Duchess of Cambridge gets a female sounding board.
“And she just couldn’t get any better than someone like Sophie.”
Few would disagree.