A Duchess is reportedly ‘relieved’ that she no longer has to observe royal protocol when greeting Meghan Markle at official royal engagements.
Did you know that there are 11 working members of the British royal family, including Edward, the latest Windsor to hold the title of Duke of Edinburgh?
King Charles III’s youngest sibling was named the Duke of Edinburgh (a role previously held by their dad, Prince Philip) upon his 59th birthday.
On March 10, 2023, to mark his 61st birthday, his wife, Sophie, was soon extended the title of the Duchess of Edinburgh.
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Sophie is the fifth to hold the Duchess of Edinburgh title. She sits behind Queen Camilla, the late monarch Queen Elizabeth II, the Grand Duchess Maria Alexandrovna of Russia and Princess Augusta of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg.
Before her new royal title, Sophie was the Countess of Wessex. Thus, she was behind Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, in the British throne’s pecking order, Hello! Magazine stated.
This meant that the mother-of-two was required by royal protocol to curtsey to Meghan at royal gatherings.
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However, now that Sophie has succeeded her in rank, the rules have changed; she is no longer required to make the gesture.
The outlet wrote that the Duchess of Edinburgh is allegedly ‘relieved’ by the rule change, reporting: “She no longer has to curtsey to someone in the family who has not only left royal duties but has spent the past three years criticising the institution that Sophie works so hard to support."
Meghan and her husband, Harry, the Duke of Sussex, stepped back from senior royal duties in 2020.
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The pair swapped Frogmore Cottage in Windsor Great Park for the sprawling hills of Southern California.
It’s there that the pair continue to raise their two children, Prince Archie of Sussex, six, and Princess Lilibet of Sussex, four.
Since leaving the UK, the married couple starred in their own titular Netflix series, Harry has released his bombshell memoir Spare, and Meghan has recently opened the doors on her lifestyle brand, As Ever.
Meanwhile, Sophie has been a full-time working member of the royal family since 2002.
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She serves as the patron of over 70 charities, including the London College of Fashion, the Mothers’ Union, and Childline.
Last year, the Duchess became the first British royal to visit Ukraine since the beginning of the Russian invasion and met with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
Months later, she became the first member of the Windsor family to visit Chad, meeting with refugees who fled the country after the Sudanese civil war.
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Sophie has previously described her position in the British royal family as not one on the ‘frontline’.
“That said, admittedly, there are fewer working members of the family these days, so I suppose more and more I’m becoming less secretive,” she claimed, as per the Daily Record.
"I just wonder what they are going to describe me as next,” she added, referring to the fact she’s often touted as the Firm’s ‘secret weapon’.
Topics: Royal Family, Meghan Markle, UK News, King Charles III, Celebrity
Ella Scott