The Princess of Wales and the Duchess of Edinburgh are a "force to be reckoned with" after becoming the "stars" of the Royal Family, an expert has claimed.
Despite their 17-year age gap, both Kate and Sophie seem to have a sweet and fun bond with the pair often seen chatting and giggling at events.
As part of the Coronation celebrations, the two women stood proudly together on the Buckingham Palace balcony and also hosted a palace garden party along with their husbands Prince William and Prince Edward.
The two have seen their profiles steadily grow in recent years - especially amid King Charles' plans for a supposed slimmed-down monarchy.
And according to BBC royal correspondent Jennie Bond, Sophie and Kate are a "force to be reckoned with".
She told OK! : "It is so much more evident now that Catherine and Sophie are key members of the list of working royals. At a Buckingham Palace garden party, we saw them taking their place as senior members of the family.
"I think people have really taken Sophie to their hearts in the past few years, especially after she showed her obvious grief at losing Prince Philip and Queen. Her evident closeness with them was so much more than a bond, it looked like a deep affection for her in-laws.
"Both she and Catherine have a common touch…perhaps because they lived 'normal' lives before marrying. They connect with the people they meet and look as if they really want to chat. They are the new female stars of the show - elegant, engaging and empathetic."
However, rather than just supporting each other through the drama and challenges of living in the royal spotlight, Sophie and Kate have also formed a naughty and fun friendship, according to a body language expert.
In one picture of the pair from the London 2012 Paralympics, Sophie can be seen throwing her head back in laughter as Kate giggles from underneath the hood of her coat.
And expert Judi James told The Sun : "Kate looks delighted to have made Sophie laugh like this and the slight nose-wrinkling suggests she thinks she is being rather naughty here."
Another famous photo of the pair shows Sophie almost falling into Kate after she stumbles while climbing into a carriage at Royal Ascot in 2017.
In this instance, Judi added: "The two women meet face-to-face here and Kate’s raised brows and eyes widened in mock shock produce a matching, open-mouthed response from Sophie, showing those strong bonds of shared fun that clearly seem to exist when the two women aren’t out in public."
Meanwhile, in her book The New Royals: Queen Elizabeth's Legacy and the Future of the Crown, commentator Katie Nicholl writes: "Kate is said to admire the way Prince Edward and his wife, Sophie, are raising their children — Lady Louise Windsor and James, Viscount Severn — in the bosom of the Royal Family but prepared for life in the real world."
