Late Queen was ‘underwhelmed’ in disappointing first encounter with Sophie Wessex
The late Queen had a very special relationship with Duchess Sophie, but their first meet didn’t necessarily go to plan.
The monarch is said to have ‘trusted’ and ‘relied’ on Sophie to a greater extent than many others in her inner circle, and reportedly saw her as ‘more like a daughter’ than a daughter-in-law.
Their close bond was said to be down to their similar interests, with the pair often spending Saturday or Sunday evenings together at Windsor, watching old war films and historical documentaries. Sophie was often given the honour of travelling with the Queen when she attended church services at either Sandringham or Balmoral, a sign of just how close they were.
The Duchess also famously once referred to the Queen by a deeply personal nickname in a speech – ‘mama’. And when she was asked once whether she genuinely shared the closest of bonds with the late Queen, as many reported, Sophie touchingly replied: “I think so. I hope so.
But that wasn’t always the case. According to one royal expert, the Queen was underwhelmed by Sophie during one of their first encounters in Windsor in 1993, during Edward and Sophie’s early days of courtship.
Sophie, who had a successful career in public relations, came from a solid middle-class background — her father, Christopher Rhys-Jones, was a tyre company executive and her late mother, Mary, a secretary. As such, Sophie was not the typical blue-blooded girlfriend that princes brought home.
Ingrid Seward told the Times: “Sophie wasn’t from that world. She’d never encountered anything like the royal family and was very nervous, shy and tongue-tied when she first met the Queen, who as a result thought she was a bit dull and told a friend: ‘You wouldn’t notice her in a crowd.’
“But the more she saw of her, the more she liked her, especially as she made a big effort with Prince Philip, learning to ride, taking up carriage driving. The Queen always liked people who could deal with her husband. Sophie might be low-key but she’s a lot smarter than people give her credit for.”
