Fans were left wondering where Duchess Sophie was on Remembrance Sunday as Queen Camilla and the Princess of Wales reportedly made a “strong team” outside of this royal trio.
The Duchess of Edinburgh’s whereabouts at the National Service of Remembrance on 12th November has been a source of confusion amongst fans. We’re used to seeing Duchess Sophie alongside Queen Camilla and Princess of Wales on the balcony of the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office as wreaths are laid at the Cenotaph below. However, this year’s poignant service was a little different as Duchess Sophie was not by Her Majesty and Kate’s sides.
Taking to social media, plenty of fans were quick to ask where Duchess Sophie was and express disappointment at how little she featured in the coverage, unlike the Queen and Princess of Wales on their balcony.
“Where was Sophie, The duchess of Edinburgh, today?” one person asked on X, formerly known as Twitter, whilst another echoed this sense of confusion, commenting, “where was the Duchess of Edinburgh today?”
Explaining the situation, a fellow royal fan replied, “The Duchess of Edinburgh was on the other balcony. The TV coverage didn’t show her.”
“Very disappointed the cameras didn't show Sophie Duchess of Edinburgh last night at the #RemembranceService at the Royal Albert Hall or today at the Cenotaph,” someone else responded.
This year Duchess Sophie stood on a separate balcony with Princess Anne’s husband Vice Admiral Sir Timothy Laurence, but it wasn’t the first time she’s been on another balcony.
Last year she joined working members of the extended Royal Family, the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester, on the balcony at the Remembrance service. This was the first National Service of Remembrance to take place since King Charles ascended the throne. Before this, Duchess Sophie, Queen Camilla as the then-Duchess of Cornwall and Kate as Duchess of Cambridge all tended to stand together.
It’s not known exactly why this has changed in recent years, though it could well be due to Queen Camilla and Kate now holding more significant ranks as Queen Consort and Princess of Wales. Queen Camilla is now the highest ranking royal woman and Kate will one day walk in her footsteps and with King Charles’ reported desire to streamline the monarchy, his immediate family with whom the future of the monarchy lies have been focused on more recently.
However, Duchess Sophie’s absence from their balcony isn’t something that was only noticed by fans. Opening up to The Mirror, body language expert Judi James has reflected upon how the dismantling of the traditional trio of Queen Camilla, Princess of Wales and Duchess Sophie supposedly saw a shift in the behavioural signals being seen on Remembrance Sunday 2023.
"Standing apart, almost at either end of the royal balcony and without Sophie present to create the usual trio of royal brides, Camilla and Kate presented visibly as status equals here,” she claimed. "Their poses looked similar and their almost matching, wide-brimmed hats were both pitched at exactly the same angle, with this mirroring giving the impression of a strong team of two as they looked down on their husbands laying their wreaths.”
This “strong team” could be seen to represent the present and future of the monarchy and so it perhaps makes sense that Queen Camilla and Kate were standing as a duo. Despite this, Duchess Sophie remains an important working royal and we can expect to see her continue to attend major royal occasions and appearances alongside her engagements.
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