Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh, doesn’t usually chase the spotlight, but when it came to taking on one of Queen Elizabeth’s old titles, she spoke up. The emotional weight of inheriting something that meant so much to the late Queen wasn’t lost on her.
She traveled to Bosnia and Herzegovina to mark the 30th anniversary of the Srebrenica genocide, and during the visit, she talked about what it felt like to take over the Duchess of Edinburgh title.
She said: “First of all, it was quite a large shoe to fill because not as many of the population alive today will remember, but the Queen was Duchess of Edinburgh for the first few years when she and my father-in-law first married.”
Sophie explained that stepping into that role meant more than just a title change. She said: “For me, it was quite an emotional thing to sort of step into her shoes [as being Duchess of Edinburgh], it felt like quite a big moment.”
Before that, Sophie was known as the Countess of Wessex, but when Prince Edward received his father’s title as Duke of Edinburgh, that changed. That’s when she officially became the Duchess of Edinburgh, the same title Queen Elizabeth held before becoming Queen.
Sophie also shared some insight on what it’s like working behind the scenes in the royal family. She said: “But of course being practical my role and my husband’s role is to support the King as it was to support the Queen and we are fortunate because we are able to not be in front and centre role, so it allows us the flexibility to explore our own interests and then also be available to do things like this where the King asked if I would represent him here, it so happens it also covering an area of interest personally for me too. But yes, we are there to support, and that will continue.”
Even with all her official duties, Sophie seems to embrace a quieter image. She’s often referred to as the royal family’s secret weapon, something she finds slightly amusing.
She said: “I like to fly under the radar. It’s all very well being a secret weapon, but if no one knows, maybe it’s too secret. I suppose I should take it as a backhanded compliment.
“I don’t see myself in a frontline position per se, that said, admittedly, there are fewer working members of the family these days, so I suppose more and more I’m becoming less secretive. I just wonder what they are going to describe me as next!”
Even though Sophie and Edward stay pretty private, their steady support hasn’t gone unnoticed. Some believe they might eventually take on the same kind of visible royal support roles that Harry and Meghan once held.
