Sophie Wessex: The Queen's Favourite

serene grace · December 20, 2007, 08:30:03 PM

http://www.express.co.uk/posts/view/28957/Sophie-Wessex-The-Queen-s-favourite

QuoteIt would be true to say the monarch has always seemed fond of Sophie. That Edward's wife is happy to stay in the background provides one of the reasons for this but so, too, is the fact she has never adopted airs and graces. She and Edward even eschewed an HRH title for Louise.

"Sophie has never tried to be what she isn't," says one royal commentator. "She wasn't born a princess or even an aristocrat. She's a girl from an ordinary, middle-class family from Kent and that's all she has ever been with the royals. That's the secret of her success in being well-liked by them."

A measure of the affection the Queen holds for Sophie is the fact she broke with tradition by visiting her in hospital after Louise was born – something she didn't even do when her own mother was ill. She and Prince Philip regularly have cosy family dinners at the Wessexes' home, Bagshot Park, and they both dote on Louise. They will doubtless make even more visits now they have an eighth grandchild.

The Duke of Edinburgh is said to like Sophie because "he's always been a sucker for blue-eyed blondes" but his regard has only grown since she took up his much-loved sport of carriage-driving. Adapting to the restrictions of royal life cannot have been easy for the fresh 28-year-old PR girl who met Prince Edward during a real tennis charity tournament. But, after a few setbacks, she has done so with aplomb, "accepting she couldn't be a career woman and just getting on with the job," according to Jennie Bond.

(Someone could learn a thing or two from her????) I don't think Kate is really approved of by the Queen or DOE ,as the press would have us believe. Kate is a bit too showy.imo

~Tidied up a bit. Lillianna.

dizzylizzy13 · December 20, 2007, 09:55:58 PM

Sophie is someone I like the more I hear about her. With Kate it is the opposite. I think many people have warmed to Sophie because of her unassuming manner and the fact that she seems genuinely private and unaffected.

Lillianna · December 20, 2007, 11:41:06 PM

I felt this deserved a topic of its own, since its much more about Sophie's personality than the recent events, :). Thanks for the link, serene!

I did not really like her in the beginning (except for the fact that she was a hard-working young lady), because she seemed to be modelling herself on, or channelling Diana. But after she really came into her own, and since she appears to be so genuinely down-to-earth and engaging, she grew on me. I like her a lot now.

Does this article sound like they are giving the enterprising one hints and tips - again? :teehee:

dizzylizzy13 · December 21, 2007, 12:04:23 AM

:D Could be!

Lillianna, I also wasn't too keen on Sophie at first because I thought she was a Diana wannabe. This was probably due to her hairstyle, which as a hair stylist once pointed out to me, there is only so much one can do with certain kinds of hair ... with fine hair, short layers are generally better, and as millions of women get their hair highlighted, I'd hardly consider Sophie to be some sort of psychotic Diana-stalker for doing that. Time has shown that Sophie is a completely different sort of person than Diana -- both women having nice attributes, but very different personalities. For those of you interested in psychological typing (the Jungian-based Myers-Briggs Test, for example) I would say Diana was an NF Idealist and Sophie is a SJ Guardian -- which would also explain why she gets on so famously with the Queen, another SJ if ever there was one. :shrug:

I think she's doing a great job :thumbsup: ... shall we start a Sophie-ite Club here on the Forum? :flowers:

serene grace · December 21, 2007, 12:41:13 AM

Tidied up a bit. Lillianna.

Thanks Lilianna.

I've always felt Sophie was a good addition to the firm and I felt total sympathy for her after hearing that Charles had worked a behind the scenes pr-campaign against she and Pr. Edward. She did one thing and the press still writes about it,even when she just had a child. Some People still think that pr-sting was partly on behalf of some manuvering somewhere with Charles minions.
It didn't bother me that she had a haircut like Diana, she did have a similar look in some photos early on, I liked it. I liked Diana and I liked Sophie, so what if she copied her, many women did in the UK. I've seen some of Sophie's childhood photos where she looks similar to Diana, so it was not a big deal to me.

leogirl · December 21, 2007, 02:02:31 AM

Why did Charles campaign against Sophie and Prince Edward?

And if there is a Sophie-ite club, I would definitely like to join. :flowers:

serene grace · December 21, 2007, 02:20:46 AM

It was a story hovering in the press of a PR Smear to smear the younger brother and his new wife in order to build up Camilla and Charle's popularity(not sure what the logic was on that). People said Oh this is ridiculous, but someone no longer with Charles actually acknowledged it was going on at some point.

dizzylizzy13 · December 21, 2007, 02:35:19 AM

That's what I read as well. I also remember reading that supposedly Charles is quite the snob and looks down on Sophie for being middle class (even though Camilla was not titled either, her grandparents were and I believe her mother was a Hon. :shrug:)

heather · December 21, 2007, 03:26:20 AM

Totally agree with most of you.

I was not too fond of Sophie at first, I really did think she was copying Diana, and I believe she was in the early days.
She has come a long way, despite the behind the scenes spitefulness of Charles and his mistress.
Sophie and Edward have a lovely little family now, both are hard working, and I fear if Charles manages to get to the throne we will see little or nothing of them.

Anyasha · December 23, 2007, 11:55:55 AM

I just love Sophie. If I were in Kate's position I'd be taking a lot of pages out of her book.

fawbert · December 23, 2007, 12:36:33 PM

Quote from: dizzylizzy on December 21, 2007, 02:35:19 AM
That's what I read as well. I also remember reading that supposedly Charles is quite the snob and looks down on Sophie for being middle class (even though Camilla was not titled either, her grandparents were and I believe her mother was a Hon. :shrug:)

Sophie is a fourth or fifth cousin of Diana, and is descended from the Viscounts Molesworth...

Countessa · December 23, 2007, 03:00:52 PM

I didn't know this. Perhaps this is part of the reason for their uncanny resemblance? And I never thought she was a Diana-wannabe. When you look at pictures of Sophie and Diana as 8-year-olds, they look similar. She doesn't have to try to look like Diana, she just does. I think she has a better and warmer personality than Diana. More than likely it's because she grew up in a middleclass home with stable, normal, dignified parents who've never struck me as social climbers. In fact, Sophie's father was said to have been concerned for his daughter's happiness when she started dating Edward.

Lolly :) · December 23, 2007, 03:03:04 PM

I can see why she's the favourite :)

heather · December 23, 2007, 08:21:14 PM

Quote from: Countessa on December 23, 2007, 03:00:52 PM
I think she has a better and warmer personality than Diana.

Sorry, I disagree with that completely, Sophie hasn't the "spark" that Diana had, nor does she give of herself to people the way Diana did, in person.

sandy · December 23, 2007, 08:27:25 PM

Sophie was in an entirely different situation than Diana. Completely different. She was marrying a man very unlikely to be future king. Diana was marrying the next in line for the throne. Sophie and Edward had a more "casual" courtship and Sophie never got the scrutiny that Diana did because Diana would be future Queen. Sophie got to be Countess. The Spencers were not "social climbers"--they had a long and distinguished background and their family played significant roles in British History--they had descent from the Stuart Kings. I think Diana had a warmer personality than Sophie.

Nighthawk · December 23, 2007, 08:37:01 PM

Wonder why the Queen favors Sophie more it's not like she has a list to choose from :lmao:

Countessa · December 23, 2007, 09:14:05 PM

Quote from: heather on December 23, 2007, 08:21:14 PM

Sorry, I disagree with that completely, Sophie hasn't the "spark" that Diana had, nor does she give of herself to people the way Diana did, in person.

I'm not talking about a "spark" or star quality or the need to be loved by the people. Sophie enjoys having a loving, stable family life. She gets along with her family and friends. She is a nice person and she carries out her royal duties with quiet grace. Perhaps this is why she is the Queen's favorite.

Countessa · December 23, 2007, 09:22:16 PM

Quote from: Nighthawk on December 23, 2007, 08:37:01 PM
Wonder why the Queen favors Sophie more it's not like she has a list to choose from :lmao:

She has Diana, Sarah, Camilla and Sophie. I don't think she misses Diana, she hates Camilla, and she seems to have both contempt and pity for Sarah.

wheet · December 23, 2007, 10:47:53 PM

I think Diana shone too brightly for all of the RF. She did have charisma that none of the other royal women match. Her immense popularity must have felt threatening once she was alienated from Charles. I don't believe the RF quite knew how to handle it.
Sophie.... they summed it up in alleged Queens statement "One would not have picked her out of the crowd."

heather · December 23, 2007, 11:08:11 PM

Sophie is "nice", but I would hardly call her a warm personality, she is quite "standoffish".

Countessa · December 24, 2007, 12:20:05 AM

This thread is really about why Sophie is the Queen's favorite. It is her ability to not stand out in a crowd among other things that she gets along with HM. The very fact that Diana was more charismatic and a star who outshone the Windors is the point don't you think? Sophie is quiet and has no need or interest to be seen. She is remarkably low-key in that family and never goes after the limelight even though she could. Just look at Fergie who's no longer in the RF. She's always making a spectacle of herself. And Diana, despite hating the RF, was not going to give up her Princess gig even though the title was given to her by the RF. She wasn't going to do anything to not be a princess. She thought it was her entitlement.

sandy · December 24, 2007, 12:40:33 AM

Diana lost her HRH title.She was allowed to keep Princess of Wales as a courtesy.Diana was also the mother of a future king and by that alone would have been given status that Fergie and Sophie could never attain. Sophie is married to the Queen's youngest so certainly would not be given publicity that Diana as the wife of a future king and mother of a future king had. Diana had more than a "Princess gig" by giving birth to William she would have had long term status in the family and no matter what happened to her appears in royal genealogies as a mother of a future king which is nothing menial. Had Diana found the right person and had a chance of a happy second marriage and more children I think she would have given up "Princess" title in a nanosecond.

Countessa · December 24, 2007, 12:43:18 AM

I think Diana did a lot of good things in her life for charity but she loved the limelight and it killed her.

Nighthawk · December 24, 2007, 12:48:09 AM

Sophie is out of the limelight I don't hear that much about her and her royal life. :hmm:

sandy · December 24, 2007, 12:53:51 AM

Diana was in the limelight since that day when she was fishing with Charles and looked back at the photographers with her compact mirror. There was no turning back. She was a 19 year old naive girl and a large reason the public took to her was because they saw her as a younger sister or daughter and though she was natural. Diana never grabbed the limelight--her nature and the position as heir to the throne's bride and future Queen ensured her life would be surrounded by the press for as long as she lived. It wasn't a matter of Diana being an attention getter, she had star quality which attracted people and drew them to her. The royals were foolish for not appreciating it. I read the Queen did before the estrangement of Charles and Diana think that Diana was good for the royals as far as image.

Sophie was not in the same position Diana was. She's an attractive woman popular with the Queen but is not a royal that gets as much attention as Charles, William, Harry and the Yorks. Princess Anne works harder but she was born a royal so there's no comparison between her and Sophie.