When Queen Elizabeth II died, most of the royal spouses were kept away,
including Meghan Markle and Kate Middleton. So why was Sophie, Countess of Wessex there?
King Charles might hold an influential position, but that doesn't mean he has his family's full
support. In fact, the first months of his reign were largely dominated by his son,
Prince Harry, who made several bombshell accusations against the monarchy. Just
weeks following Charles' ascension into his new role, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex released
the Netflix documentary "Harry & Meghan," in which they accused the royal family of
"planting" damaging news stories about them in the press. About one month later, Prince Harry
published "Spare," a memoir that alleged Prince William physically attacked his younger brother.
In the midst of this chaos, Charles has one rock he can depend on: his sister-in-law, Sophie,
Countess of Wessex, who remains dedicated to the crown. Royal historian Marlene Koenig
told Express that Sophie's commitment to her job makes her a model working royal.
"There are no scandals. She is happy to pick up new patronages and go out and fly the flag for the
UK. I suspect Charles likes her, again, because she is down to Earth, and she is dependable."
As a result, Sophie has become an increasingly visible member of
palace life in the wake of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's exit.
In addition to their strong working relationship, King Charles and the
Countess of Wessex appear to legitimately have a close friendship. At the 2022 Ascot horse races,
the king and the countess were spotted together with big smiles on their faces.
In an interview with Express, body language expert Judi James dissected their nonverbal
communication and analyzed what it could say about their relationship.
"Sophie is clearly sharing a fun moment with her husband's brother [...] Their
body language is so mirrored it implies strong bonds of friendship."
For James, this interaction reveals a sense of closeness between Charles and his sister-in-law.
Not only do the pair have a similar sense of humor, but they also seem to genuinely get along.
This was not the only occasion that Charles and Sophie shared a moment of friendship
in public. As reported by Hello!, when the pair attended the 2022 Commonwealth Games,
Sophie greeted the king with a kiss on the cheek. This gesture was a relatively rare
moment of physical affection for a king who isn't especially demonstrative. In Prince
Harry's memoir "Spare," the prince alleged that Charles didn't even hug him when his mother died.
"Your father comes in, sits on your bed, puts his hand on your knee,
and tells you that there's been an accident."
As the dynamics within the royal family shift, King Charles has come to trust Sophie,
Countess of Wessex to represent the crown internationally. According to a report
by Vanity Fair, the countess has taken on an increasingly diplomatic role under Charles' reign.
This shift was demonstrated in October 2022, when Sophie embarked on an official visit to
Malawi. During this trip, the countess took a major role, even speaking in the name of the
monarchy to commemorate Malawi's accomplishment of eradicating the eye disease trachoma.
The Evening Standard reports that at Malawi's World Sight Day,
Sophie gave a speech in which she shared some words on behalf of Buckingham Palace, saying,
"Her late Majesty Queen Elizabeth the Second, my dear mother-in-law,
was so proud of the Commonwealth and all that it stood for. She knew of Malawi's
achievement and was so pleased that this was made possible by the fund."
Judging by his subsequent actions, Charles seemed more than pleased with Sophie's work in Malawi.
Just two months following the trip, Sophie was permitted to go to the United States,
where she met Ukrainian First Lady Olena Zelenska. The two women were honored at
the Hillary Rodham Clinton Awards Ceremony at Georgetown University.
Sophie has offered King Charles her diplomacy skills not just outside the country,
but also within the private confines of the Royal Family itself. The countess,
who was once referred to as a "savvy peacemaker" by royal expert Camilla Tominey in a piece for
The Telegraph, is rumored to be responsible for handling Prince Harry and Meghan Markle
in tough moments. Because of this, royal expert Alastair Stewart told Express that
Sophie has been a source of "strength" for the king following the Sussex's exit:
"Charles is absolutely at his most peaceful now with Camilla,
but I think the women in the family will be towers of strength for him not least Sophie and Anne."
One moment in which Sophie took on this role occurred when Charles was grappling
with Harry's choice to step away from the monarchy. According to the book,
"The New Royals" by Katie Nicholl, when the king was most troubled about the prince's decision,
Sophie was able to step up and provide practical support to Charles. She reportedly teamed up with
Camilla, Queen Consort to try to usher the Sussexes back into the family. Nicholl wrote,
"Behind closed doors family members including Camilla and Sophie reached
out on a number of occasions to Harry and Meghan."
Because of her dedication to the crown, Sophie is arguably indispensable to King Charles. And,
according to some reports, the monarch knows it.
According to a 2021 report from The Mirror, then-Prince Charles hoped to have a smaller
monarchy when he became King. To plan for this inevitability, Queen Elizabeth
reportedly hand-picked eight core senior members before her death to take part in this so-called
"New Firm." Both Sophie and Prince Edward's names were included on the list of key royals.
This decision to include Sophie in the "New Firm" came even as Charles was thinking of
ways to cut certain members of the royal family out of the inner fold. According to royal writer
Angela Levin, the monarch hopes that a smaller firm will cut palace-related costs. Levin said,
"Prince Charles has wanted for a very long time to cut the monarchy down to
save costs and to make people be worth the money that they got from the taxpayer."
The fact that Sophie will continue to participate in royal life strongly suggests
that Charles sees her as an integral member of the family. Interestingly,
the public seems to agree with him. One poll conducted by Express showed that
93% of Brits believe that Sophie should be a part of this new, smaller monarchy.
Part of the reason that King Charles has included Sophie in the new phase
of monarchy is the countess' deep dedication to her duties. Reports indicate that The Countess
is especially committed to her role of promoting charities and social issues.
As the Mirror's royal editor Russell Myers revealed on an episode of "The Royal Beat:"
"Sophie's working with girls' education, she's done a lot of
stuff about violence against females in Africa [...] It's not just for show."
"As someone who firmly believes in the equality of men and women, I find myself drawn to your cause."
Perhaps because of her devotion to the crown, Sophie has taken on an even larger
royal role under King Charles. According to the Mirror, following Queen Elizabeth's passing,
Sophie accepted many of the late monarch's royal patronages. This new level of responsibility came
even as the countess was already involved in over 70 charities. Nonetheless, a royal insider told
the Mirror that Queen Elizabeth knew that Sophie would do a good job continuing her work, saying,
"Her Majesty admired Sophie's quiet sense of duty,
her strong work ethic and the way she balanced her public and family lives."
It seems that Charles shares his mother's view of
the countess. In the same Mirror interview, the insider added that
"Sophie's growing popularity with the public is also evident and she
will take on a larger public profile in a new-look monarchy of King Charles."
Perhaps the biggest indicator of Sophie's friendship with King Charles was that she
was invited to say goodbye to Queen Elizabeth at Balmoral Castle. According to ABC News Australia,
several high-ranking royals were invited to Balmoral Castle, where they hoped to see the queen
in her final moments. These senior members of the firm included Prince William, Prince Andrew,
Prince Edward, and the Countess of Wessex. Although this group arrived at the estate just
minutes after the queen's passing, their presence at her Scottish home was quite significant,
as then-Prince Charles did not invite every member of the family to his mother's bedside.
In his memoir "Spare," Prince Harry claimed that several royals were specifically not
invited to mourn at Balmoral. Apparently, the group of excluded family members were
mostly royal wives, including Meghan Markle. The prince wrote:
"Then my father called again. He told me I was welcome at Balmoral,
but without [Meghan] [...] He said, stammering, that he simply didn't want the place to be full of
people. 'Nobody's wife was going to go, not even Kate,' he told me, 'so Meg shouldn't either.'"
According to The Daily Mail, Prince Andrew's ex-wife and longtime roommate Sarah Ferguson
was also not invited to the gathering. Given that Charles excluded so many people from the event,
the fact that he invited Sophie speaks volumes about her relationship with the monarch – and
with the people who mourned the Queen's death.
"The Countess in particular really went from
individual to individual, shaking their hands, and hearing their messages of condolence."
Part of the reason that King Charles seems to carry so much respect for Sophie likely
stems from the countess' "stiff upper lip" attitude. Beyond her role as a diplomat,
support system, and dear friend, Sophie has shown her loyalty to the king by trying
to fill the gap left by the Sussexes. As one anonymous source told The Sun,
"She has been singled out as a person the Palace would like to help ease the
burden. She's very popular with other senior royals like Charles and Camilla,
and has proved to be extremely good at public engagements."
Sophie's PR talent, however, does not mean that she will necessarily
take on the Sussex's charity work. Sophie believes that her role won't
increase in terms of literal duties. The Countess of Wessex told The Times,
"I am pretty busy already,
so I'm not sure how much more I can do. There are only so many hours in the day."
She did, nonetheless, concede that, with the Sussexes gone,
she will likely take on more attention from the press.
With scandalous story after story circulating about Harry and Meghan,
it can be assumed that Charles appreciates Sophie representing the firm and exceeding
the palace's expectations – all while remaining drama-free.