Who Is Princess Sophie, duch*ess Of Edinburgh? Exploring Her Role With The UK Royal Family As She Oversees Duties Amid Kate Middleton's Cancer Battle (2024)

FAQs

Who is Sophie, the princess of Edinburgh? ›

Sophie, duch*ess of Edinburgh (born Sophie Helen Rhys-Jones, 20 January 1965) is a member of the British royal family. She is married to Prince Edward, Duke of Edinburgh, the youngest sibling of King Charles III. Sophie grew up at Brenchley, Kent, and later attended West Kent College, training as a secretary.

Sophie, duch*ess of Edinburgh (born January 20, 1965, Oxford, England) is the British consort (1999– ) of Prince Edward, the youngest child of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, duke of Edinburgh.

Queen Elizabeth II's youngest son first met Sophie in 1987 when she was working as a press officer at Capital Radio. At the time, Edward was dating Sophie's friend, but when the duo reconnected in 1993, they were both single.

Prince Edward, Duke of Edinburgh (Edward Antony Richard Louis; born 10 March 1964) is a member of the British royal family. He is the youngest child of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, and the youngest sibling of King Charles III.

Sophie's close relationship with the Queen

Sophie was often given the honour of travelling with the Queen when she attended church services at either Sandringham or Balmoral, which is said to be a sign of just how close they are.

Sophie, who over the years became known as Queen Elizabeth's “favorite daughter-in-law,” has worn the tiara on a number of occasions including to plenty of royal weddings and other high-profile events. Here are the different times we've seen Sophie rocking the Anthemion Tiara.

Princess Sophia never married and had children of her own, although rumours circulated that she gave birth to an illegitimate son in the summer of 1800. The child was supposedly fathered by George III's equerry, Major General Thomas Garth, who was thought to have raised the boy himself.

It's understood that Sophie Wessex is also technically Princess - although not Princess Sophie. As the wife of the late Queen's son Prince Edward and not a Princess by blood, she would be Princess Edward, although she's never used this particular title.

By all accounts, King George and Queen Charlotte had a very loving relationship. According to National Geographic, “the king and queen had an unusually happy marriage, and George III was a devoted father and husband.”

Lady Louise Windsor

Prince Edward, Duke of Edinburgh / Daughter

How do you address the duch*ess of Edinburgh? ›

Keep your eyes peeled for royal duch*esses, though (like the duch*ess of Cambridge) - you should address them as 'Your Royal Highness' on introduction, followed by 'Ma'am'. It's not a trick, it's just an exception to the rule. Unless you work for said duch*ess, in which case you should call her 'Your Grace'.

In the tradition of previous royal weddings, Queen Elizabeth granted a new royal title to her youngest son on his wedding day. Prince Edward was given the title, Earl of Wessex. As the wife of the Earl of Wessex, Sophie's title was Countess of Wessex, because the wife of an earl is customarily styled as a Countess.

On February 28, 1947, Philip became a British subject, renouncing his right to the Greek and Danish thrones and taking his mother's surname, Mountbatten. (His father's family name had been Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg.)

Although it's customary to assign princely status and the style of His or Her Royal Highness to all children of a monarch's sons, it was announced by Buckingham Palace on Edward and Sophie's marriage in 1999 that any future children would be styled as the children of an earl, rather than children of a prince.

Apparently, it was all his choice. According to The Telegraph, he was set to be Duke of Cambridge, but declined because of a character named Lord Wessex in Shakespeare in Love. "He liked the sound of it and asked the Queen if he could have that instead,” a royal courtier told the newspaper in 2010.

Sophie Helen Rhys-Jones, Countess of Wessex, 57, is the daughter-in-law of the late Queen Elizabeth.

Sophie became the duch*ess of Edinburgh in the same sweep, inheriting the title used by then-Princess Elizabeth upon her marriage to Philip in 1947 and before her sudden accession to the throne in 1952.

With the influence of Ramsey, and because she had fallen in love with the duke, Sophie let Arthur take the fall, causing him to go to prison. At one point, Sophie married the duke, earning her the title of duch*ess of Hanover. She also became the stepmother to his child, Astrid.

Not only did Sophie highlight the Queen's lifelong work to better the Commonwealth, but she also revealed what she calls the monarch in less formal settings. After referring to the Queen as “Your Majesty” several times in her speech, Sophie got more personal and called her “Mama.”