The Duchess of Sussex's relationship with the Countess of Wessex has come under focus after the pair travelled together in the same car. Meghan travelled with Sophie by car, following The Queen Consort and the Princess of Wales, on the procession from Buckingham Palace to Westminster Hall.
Sophie, 57, has been married to Her Majesty's youngest son Prince Edward, 58, since 1999, and they share two children: the Queen's so-called 'favourite' granddaughter Lady Louise Windsor, 18, and James Viscount Severn, 14.
She and the now Queen Consort were the only non-blood relatives to be at Balmoral after the monarch's death - with Sophie, 57, previously described as a 'second daughter' to the late monarch.
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She is thought to have become close to HRH after her mother Mary Rhys-Jones, 77, died from stomach cancer in 2005.
The family house, Bagshot Park, is close to Windsor and they regularly visited, with the Sophie and the late monarch meeting up for dog walks.
They also shared a passion for military history, and could often be found trawling documents in the Royal Archives at Windsor.
Naturally Sophie, who grew up in a middle-class family and founded a PR firm before joining the Royal Family, has been compared with Meghan - as they both underwent a huge transition on joining the families.
The monarch also invited her to several church services together and they enjoyed watching old movies together.
Her Majesty was also extremely close to Sophie's children, her youngest grandchildren - Lady Louise Windsor and Viscount James.
An insider previously told the Sun: "The Queen loves the fact that Louise and James relish their time at Balmoral, and she has become particularly close to Louise, who seems to have become her favourite grandchild, closely followed by James."
Amid the ongoing tensions between the Sussexes and the Royals, one source has speculated that Sophie could help smooth over the relationship.
According to The Times, Sophie was the first member of the royal family to visit the Sussexes following the birth of Archie in 2019, going to the couple's Frogmore Cottage in Windsor.
A source told the outlet that Sophie is 'normal' and has empathy that perhaps others in the Firm 'don't naturally have'.
Similar interests
Previously, the Mirror's royal editor Russell Myers told True Royalty TV's The Royal Beat that Sophie and Meghan had a lot of the same interests
In March, Sophie undertook a four-day solo tour of New York City, where many of the events focused on promoting women's rights, something Meghan is also passionate about.
He said: "The similarities between Sophie and Meghan are there to be seen.
"Sophie’s working with girls’ education, she’s done a lot of stuff about violence against females in Africa...Are the Instagram generation going to be as obsessed with Sophie and Edward Wessex as they are with the Sussexes? Obviously not.
"However, when you’re dealing with them... Sophie’s really across her subject matter.
He poignantly added "It’s not just for show. With the Sussexes not here, the Wessexes will undoubtedly benefit.”
Awkward comment
In a rare interview with The Sunday Times, Sophie compared her experiences to Meghan's.
Speaking to the paper, she compared Meghan and Harry's experience to hers with Edward, she commented: "Remember I’d had five years to adjust [to royal life]. And for our six-month engagement I was even staying at Buckingham Palace.
"Not that you necessarily know how it will pan out."
Speaking about the Sussexes exit from the firm, she added: |I just hope they will be happy.”
But possibly more pointedly, she said that the royal family do all they can to try to assist new members to adjust to the royal life, adding: "We all try to help any new members of the family”.
Oprah joke
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex's tell-all sent shockwaves around the world in March when the couple made a series of damning allegations against the monarchy.
Some in royal circles took offence after it emerged that Buckingham Palace had not been offered right of reply before the interview aired.
But the Countess of Wessex made light of the situation when she and husband Prince Edward sat down for an interview with the Telegraph's royal editor Camilla Tominey.
When the couple were quizzed about the Oprah tell-all, Edward joked: "Oprah who?"
Sophie followed up with: "Yes, what interview?"
She was later asked about an anecdote that the Archbishop of Canterbury did not know who Oprah was at the Sussex wedding.
The countess replied: "You know, if you’re not into chat shows, there’s no reason why you should know who she is.
"Certainly not in this country, anyway."
