When the late Queen first met Duchess Sophie, her first impression of her soon-to-be daughter-in-law also called out the behaviour of another major royal
Before Sophie, the Duchess of Edinburgh, was known as one of the most trusted members of the Firm, she was given the daunting task of getting to know the royal family as she enjoyed the early days of her relationship with Prince Edward.
During the couple’s courtship, Edward invited Sophie to Windsor Castle to meet his mother, the late Queen Elizabeth. As the two women met for the first time, Her Majesty reportedly made a stinging remark about her soon-to-be daughter-in-law, but the comment actually turned out to be a compliment.
A royal author has recalled Sophie’s first meeting with the late Queen, and how the monarch’s first impression of the Duchess was actually a commentary on another problematic member of the royal family. It comes after Kate Middleton halts summer break to release new video with emotional statement.
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Author Sean Smith lifted the curtain on the Windsor Castle visit in his new biography on the Duchess’s life, titled Sophie, as he revealed Edward’s valet Brian gave an “anxious” Sophie advice so she could avoid any of the common faux pas visitors encounter when meeting the royals for the first time.
Sophie was then immediately thrown into the deep end when she joined Queen Elizabeth II for lunch, after Brian had told her a “white lie” to say the meal would take place in a large dining room with minimal contact with the Queen.
Smith said: “The room was tiny and the Queen was certainly not a speck at the other end of the table. The big moment arrived. Edward introduced Sophie to the Queen and the brief handshake and curtsy were over in the blink of an eye: all that practising at home had been worth it.”
Once the meal was over, and any faux pas had been avoided, Smith likened the whole experience to a visit to the dentist. “Never as bad as you think it is going to be and something you feel pleased with yourself for having done,” he said.
After the lunch, Sophie then joined the Queen in a more relaxed environment as they spent time with the Queen’s young grandchildren Princess Beatrice and Eugenie. “For the first time she chatted politely, if a little stiffly, with Edward’s mother. The ice was broken,” said Smith.
Once Sophie’s first meeting with the Queen had come to an end, someone allegedly overheard Queen Elizabeth describing Sophie as “someone you wouldn’t notice in a crowd”.
While the comment may sound scathing of Sophie’s character, it was actually intended as more of a compliment, as the most recent additions to the royal family at the time – Diana and Sarah Ferguson – were, according to Smith, “tabloid gifts that kept on giving”.
“It was greatly to Sophie’s advantage to maintain a low profile,” Smith wrote. “She would have to face intense media scrutiny in the future, but for the moment she could quietly establish herself as a dependable presence.”
In the years following, Sophie and Edward’s relationship blossomed, leading the prince to propose to Sophie in 1998, with their wedding coming a year later in St George’s Chapel in Windsor.