Duchess Sophie’s status as ‘proper asset’ to royals shines through in selfless birthday montage

Duchess Sophie’s 60th birthday has been marked with a special video montage by the Royal Family and it highlights an important part of her personality.

Over the years we’ve come to expect and look forward to birthday photos and messages being shared by the Royal Family in tribute to their working members, but in recent weeks we’ve seen a slight shift in their approach. The Princess of Wales’s 43rd birthday photo came with a personal message signed off by Prince William praising her remarkable strength and now Duchess Sophie’s 60th has been marked in an equally special way. In honour of her milestone birthday the Royal Family’s Instagram account has shared a montage of photos in a video.

This came a day after several official pictures for Duchess Sophie’s 60th were shared and, just like with Kate’s birthday message, the new video celebrated the Duchess of Edinburgh’s qualities as much as the significant date. Above all, the main takeaway from the post was her dedication to her work and her selfless desire for the focus to be on that.

Alongside many others, the video included pictures of the Duchess of Edinburgh during a visit to Guide Dogs UK - one of her Patronages - in May 2023 and in Guernsey in August 2024 for the small ship race as Patron of UK Sail Training. We also saw Duchess Sophie presenting a medal during the British Cycling National Track Championships in February 2024 and undertaking a visit in Tanzania.

All of these snapshots from the past few years are a wonderful tribute to the Duchess of Edinburgh on her 60th birthday. As well as wishing her a "very happy" day, the Royal Family caption added, "To learn more about Her Royal Highness’s work, visit the link in our bio."

Just like the choice of photos, this caption highlighted Duchess Sophie’s work and focused upon her impact as a public figure, rather than a private individual. This is something that Her Royal Highness would likely very much approve of, as it’s often been suggested that she wants her work to be at the forefront of people’s minds.

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Speaking to The Sunday Times ahead of Duchess Sophie’s 60th birthday, Ingrid Seward, Editor of Majesty magazine and biographer of Prince Edward, reflected upon this.

"With Sophie, it’s not all about her. She was one of the first ‘outsiders’ who came into the royal family and realised it’s about all of ‘them’ working together as a team," she declared. "She really gets that and doesn’t want praise heaped on her."

Meanwhile, a former Palace aide who reportedly knows the Duchess of Edinburgh well echoed this sentiment and claimed Duchess Sophie makes sure that the planned engagements for the year ahead are helpful.

"She’s tough, she knows her own mind and will argue her corner. There was always a danger people underestimated her but she stood up for herself, for Edward, for them as a couple," they alleged, adding, "[S]he would ask, ‘What are we doing that for? What’s the value in it?’ She wanted to know what they were doing was actually useful."

Throughout the years Duchess Sophie’s dedication to her royal role has been admirable and a source who has known the Royal Family for years described her as a "proper asset". This is clearly reflected in the royals’ post for her birthday and however she’s celebrating her big day personally, it’s wonderful to see this is how it’s being honoured publicly.