Pictures of a grieving Sophie Rhys-Jones, Countess of Wessex, sorrowfully studying tributes to the Queen and taking a moment in her car following the hearse have resonated with distraught royal fans. The moment doctors declared they were concerned for Her Majesty's health, Sophie, along with her husband Prince Edward, dashed up to Balmoral to be by her mother-in-law's side.
She and the now Queen Consort were the only non-blood relatives to be there in her final hours - but Sophie is said to have been like a 'second daughter' to the late monarch - often described as the 'Queen's favourite'. But it hadn't always been this way, with their close bond taking several years to blossom.
The Countess, who married the Queen's youngest son, Earl of Wessex, in 1999, was also pictured this week comforting her sister-in-law Princess Anne, as they watched Queen Elizabeth II's coffin arrive in Edinburgh to lie in rest at the Palace of Holyroodhouse overnight.
