One's the Duchess of Edinburgh, the other's the Princess of Wales — so far,
so royal. But how well do Sophie and Catherine actually get on?
Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh married into the royal family on June 19th,
1999, almost a full 12 years before Catherine and William's own nuptials in 2011. With so
much experience already under her belt as a working royal, Sophie appeared to take the
then-newly-minted Duchess of Cambridge under her wing as she learned to adjust to her new life.
Despite Princess Catherine now having served as a working royal for over a decade, it seems
she still leans on Sophie for support. In 2020, body language expert Judi James told The Express:
"Many of the poses of the two women together show Sophie face-checking
Kate with quite strong bouts of watchful-looking eye contact to
suggest she's taking a semi-maternal approach. However, she also has raised brows and what's
called a 'pinging' smile that implies she wants to ensure Kate is enjoying herself."
Sophie's influence on Catherine has clearly paid off, as the princess more than holds
her own in public. Likely due to the nature of their early relationship,
Sophie and Catherine appear genuinely close whenever they are seen together.
Both Sophie and Catherine married into royalty, but, unlike many of the other royals, they both
met their husbands in relatively humdrum circumstances. Sophie met Prince Edward,
the youngest son of the late Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip,
while building her career in public relations. In fact, their first formal meeting occurred in 1993,
when Sophie was hired to discuss a Real Tennis charity event on which Edward was
also working. Meanwhile, Catherine met Prince William in 2001 when they were
both students at the University of St. Andrews. The pair were friends at first,
but William's interest in Catherine was piqued when Catherine modeled in a student fashion show.
"She's got a really naughty sense of humor, which helps me because I've got a really
dirty sense of humor. It was good fun. We had a really good laugh, and then things happened."
Having met their husbands outside of traditional royal circles
no doubt helped Sophie and Catherine cement their bond, as most of the other women in the
family met their spouses through royal or aristocratic connections.
Sophie and Catherine also share similar backgrounds, in the sense that they both
grew up as non-royals. Prior to marrying Prince Edward, the Duchess of Edinburgh was known as
Sophie Rhys-Jones; her father was a salesman and her mother worked as a secretary. Sophie
grew up in the West Kent Village of Brenchley and attended Kent College for Girls before going on
to attend West Kent College Tonbridge. Following her schooling, she went to work as a secretary
at a London public relations firm and set out on the career path that led her to meet Edward.
Although Princess Catherine was also a commoner before marriage, she enjoyed a reasonably wealthy
upbringing. Her parents, Michael and Carole Middleton, own a party supplies company,
Party Pieces, having first met while they both worked in aviation. Thanks to the success of their
company, Michael and Carole were able to send their children to prestigious private schools,
such as St. Andrew's prep school and Marlborough, a private boarding school. Catherine worked
for the family company as well as Jigsaw, a clothing retailer, before marrying William.
Sophie and Catherine have likely bonded over the early days of their relationships,
in which they were both hounded by the British press. Both women were eventually
spared by interference from their future husbands.
In an open letter in 1993, Prince Edward implored the press to give his relationship privacy,
citing the destructive effect of press attention on the marriages of his relatives. Notably,
the previous year had seen the official dissolution of his sister Princess Anne's
marriage to Captain Mark Phillips, as well as his two brothers' separations
from their respective spouses. You probably know how all that went down.
"Well, there were three of us in this marriage, so it was a bit crowded."
Edward wrote:
"I am very conscious that other members of my immediate family
have been subjected to similar attention and it has not been at all beneficial to
their relationships. Therefore please will you call an end to your harassment
of both Sophie and me and allow us to try to carry on our lives as normal."
In 2007, William made a similar move on Catherine's behalf. The statement
issued by the then-Duke of Cambridge read, in part:
"Prince William is very unhappy at the paparazzi harassment of
his girlfriend. He wants, more than anything, for it to stop."
It helps to have shared interests when forming a bond, and Sophie and Catherine both enjoy a number
of similar hobbies. Danielle Stacey, royal correspondent for Hello! magazine, explains:
"The royal ladies have similar interests and passions, including their love of sport and
fashion. They also share common causes within their royal work,
with both Kate and Sophie championing the work of children and young people's charities."
When it comes to sports, Catherine is noted as a royal patron of institutions such as SportsAid,
the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, the Lawn Tennis Association,
and the 1851 Trust. The Duchess of Edinburgh serves as a patron for England Hockey,
the British Cycling Foundation, the British Bobsleigh & Skeleton Association, and the U.K.
Armed Forces Winter Sports Association. Both women have also been known to enjoy sailing.
One particular way in which Sophie and Catherine have bonded over the
years is through their shared love of fashion. Both women are known
for their exquisite taste when it comes to apparel and accessories,
and their fashion choices during public outings are often complimented by the media.
"That is so fetch!"
In fact, their parallel tastes have even led to instances in which Sophie
has acted as a kind of secret shopper for Catherine. Designer Donna Ida revealed to
The Daily Mail in 2019 that Sophie purchased a jumpsuit from her brand,
and specifically asked to get one for Catherine as well. She told the outlet:
"My friend, a stylist, is best friends with Sophie Wessex,
and Sophie buys from us. She got our black Sadie jumpsuit for herself and
then asked for one for Kate. She said: 'Kate wants one, can I get one as well?'"
Catherine has also been credited for influencing Sophie's style,
with styling director Rosie Hartman telling The Express in 2022 that there were "echoes
of Kate's style" in newer items in Sophie's wardrobe. Hartman added that Sophie's close
relationship with Catherine has likely influenced many of her fashion choices.
Another trait shared by Sophie and Catherine is their desire to be more hands-on as parents.
This extends to giving their children as normal lives as they can possibly be given,
considering their royal status. Sophie's children are Lady Louise Mountbatten-Windsor and James,
Earl of Wessex; Sophie herself has stated that she and Prince Edward always planned
to raise them as normally as possible. Louise and James weren't given HRH titles at birth,
which will allow them to decide on their own paths later in life. In 2020, Sophie told The Times:
"We try to bring them up with the understanding that they are very
likely to have to work for a living [...] Hence we made the decision not to use HRH
titles. They have them and can decide to use them from 18, but it's highly unlikely."
Despite the fact that she is raising a future king, Catherine reportedly also
feels strongly about giving her children as normal of a life as possible. In 2019,
a friend told People magazine that Catherine "desperately wants [...] normality for her own
kids," and wishes them to have a youth similar to her own. The friend added:
"She wants to emulate her upbringing, living in the countryside with a close-knit family."
When it comes to their patronages, Catherine and Sophie hold a shared
passion for important causes related to health and wellness. While each
woman tends to focus on different areas within the wide spectrum of health issues,
they are similar in how much time they spend raising awareness about them. In addition to
focusing on children's causes, Catherine is also an advocate for mental health and awareness;
she is well-known for having helped form "Heads Together" with Prince William and Prince Harry,
which helps shine a spotlight on various mental health initiatives through the Royal Foundation.
Sophie is also a major advocate for health. She places her focus on causes that help to
eliminate avoidable blindness, support women's health, tackle sexual violence,
and explore menopause in the workplace. In a 2021 virtual chat for Wellbeing of Women,
she explicitly called for there to be a more public discussion about women's health,
arguing that too much of the dialogue is kept shrouded in secrecy. Sophie said:
"We all talk about having babies, but nobody talks about periods,
nobody talks about the menopause. Why not?"
Sophie went on to highlight the fact that these issues are
incredibly normal — and suggested that something needs to change.
"It's something that's incredibly normal,
but it is something that is very hidden and I think it's time to say enough."
Regardless of the similarities or differences between the two women, it seems to be the case
that both Sophie and Catherine genuinely have a great relationship — and that they both enjoy
spending time together. They are frequently photographed smiling and laughing together at
public engagements and royal events. Meanwhile, the two women are known to be supportive when out
in public together. They're even capable of sharing a laugh when things go wrong.
In 2017, for example, Catherine managed to save Sophie during a
potentially embarrassing incident at the Royal Ascot. As Sophie entered a carriage that she,
Prince Edward, Catherine, and Prince William were riding in,
she stumbled and started to fall forward toward the princess. Catherine quickly caught her and
helped steady her so she could take her seat, and the pair were seen laughing about it right after.
A similar incident occurred in 2018, as the royals gathered outside Princess Eugenie's wedding to
Jack Brooksbank. The wind started to cause the hem of Catherine's pink dress to fly up, but, with the
help of Sophie, she managed to keep herself from embarrassment. Once again, Sophie and Catherine
were seen smiling right afterwards, proving that, no matter how embarrassing a situation,
they're quite capable of helping each other out. Turns out even royals can have each others' backs!