Since Harry and Meghan left the Firm, Sophie Wessex, 55, has stepped up into a leadership role – and she’s become close with the Duchess of Cambridge, 38.
WATCH: Sophie Wessex shares sage advice to parents in lockdown
“Kate is truly grateful to Sophie for stepping up – she’s a calm yet glamorous pair of hands to help Kate out with attending public engagements,” a source revealed.
And Sophie’s transition to becoming a more visible and active royal family member couldn’t have come at a better time for the Duchess.
“Kate was feeling a bit overwhelmed at the task of being the female face of the younger generation and Sophie has breezed right in,” the insider added.
But despite her apparent workload increase, Sophie has in fact worked hard behind the scenes for years, it’s only that she upped the ante in the wake of Harry and Meghan’s exit.
What’s more, the Countess of Wessex even showed her support for Kate by taking part in the Duchess of Cambridge’s Hold Still photographic project.
Held in collaboration with the National Portrait Gallery, the Duchess’ initiative invited people to send their unique photos capturing their time in lockdown.
The response was overwhelming, with Kate’s team being flooded with entries as the project kicked off, with many snaps being shared across social media – and Kate even commented on some.
Sophie put her own spin on the competition, sharing a striking image of a food bank worker, but it was later revealed that her submission didn’t hit the mark.
Speaking on the Royally Obsessed podcast, royal experts Rachel Bowie and Roberta Fiortio said that despite being rejected, there is likely a valid reason for the decision.
“Sophie, Countess of Wessex was the only royal relative that we know of to have submitted a photo to Kate’s project, but her picture didn’t get chosen,” Rachel began.
When co-host Roberta replied by saying “Ouch!” Rachel went on to say that royal photographer Chris Jackson also entered the competition, but was surprisingly overlooked.
But as Roberta continued to explain, while it would have been nice for Kate to acknowledge Sophie or Chris’ work, it may have appeared like nepotism.
“It would have felt a little too insider if Sophie’s did get picked,” she told Rachel, who added: “That is true, it would have been a little bit of nepotism.”
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