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Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh, is royally pleased.
After Sophie was made Duchess of Edinburgh earlier this year in honor of her husband Prince Edward’s 61st birthday, a new rule has been implemented.
Now, the 60-year-old reportedly no longer needs to curtsy to Meghan Markle.
“Sophie is relieved,” her friend revealed to reporters, according to Hello Magazine. “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.”
Before Sophie’s new title, Markle, 43, was above her in the royal pecking order because of her marriage to Prince Harry, 40.
The royal family member called going from Countess of Wessex to Duchess of Edinburgh “quite a big moment.”
Both Queen Elizabeth and Queen Camilla previously held the title.
The Duchess of Edinburgh first met Edward in 1987 after she moved to London to work for Capital Radio.
The two remained friends for years before sparking up a romance. In 1999, Prince Edward and Sophie tied the knot.
Sophie has been a staunch confidant of King Charles, 76, and a loyal member of the royal family since marrying Edward.
Earlier this month, reports surfaced that Sophie allegedly skipped Princess Diana’s funeral because the pair looked too much alike.
“She had an obvious and reasonable excuse: a friend at the palace explained, ‘Sophie decided it would be too upsetting for the crowd if she went,’” author Sean Smith wrote in his new biography about the Duchess, titled “Sophie: Saving the Royal Family.”
“’She’s well aware that she looks like Princess Diana from a distance and made her decision in a caring and thoughtful way,’” he added. “’The royal family fully supported.’”
Both Diana, who died at age 36 following a car accident in 1997, and Sophie had blonde hair and piercing blue eyes.
Sophie addressed their similarities in the ’90s.
“I don’t deny that we do look alike,” she said at the time, per Daily Express. “But I couldn’t ever compete with Diana’s image.”
She added, “I’m not Diana.”
While the West Kent College alum is rising in the royal ranks, Markle and Prince Harry stepped away from their royal duties in 2020.
The couple, who tied the knot in 2018, moved to Montecito, California, with their kids Archie, 6, and Lilibet, 4.
Since relocating from England to the US, Markle and Harry have remained a united front.
In April, the “Suits” alum reflected on her romance with the royal. She reminisced on affectionately using “M” and “H” to talk about one another at the beginning of their relationship.
“Probably at the beginning of us dating, when everything was in code,” she admitted while on “The Jamie Kern Lima Show.” “People didn’t know we were dating for, talk about memory lane, so long ago. I mean, it’ll be our seven-year wedding anniversary soon. I couldn’t tell anyone who I was dating, and who was keeping [the secret], so I think we were just on a letter basis.”
Markle confessed, “It stuck.”
“I love nicknames,” she gushed.
“He’s just out there, just constant, like he’s just going to do whatever he can to make sure that our family is safe and protected and we’re uplifted and still make time for date nights,” Markle continued.
“He’s also a fox. If you haven’t noticed, my husband’s very, very handsome. But his heart is even more beautiful.”
The pair have fiercely supported one another since stepping away from the royal family.
“You have to imagine at the beginning, everyone has, like, butterflies. Then we immediately went into the trenches together. Yeah, right out of the gate, like six months into dating,” Markle reflected.
“So now, seven years later, when you have a little bit of breathing space, you can just enjoy each other in a new way, and that’s why I feel like it’s more of a honeymoon period for us now.”
English (US)