Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh had a very close bond with the late Queen, having lost her own mother Mary Rhys-Jones in 2005. But they didn’t share an immediate connection…

The late Queen had a very special relationship with Duchess Sophie, but their first meet didn’t necessarily go to plan.

The monarch is said to have ‘trusted’ and ‘relied’ on Sophie to a greater extent than many others in her inner circle, and reportedly saw her as ‘more like a daughter’ than a daughter-in-law.

The Queen affectionately straightening Sophie’s hat ahead of the Christmas Day service in 2002 ( 
Image:
POOL/AFP via Getty Images)

The two ladies were often seen laughing together ( 
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Getty Images)

But that wasn’t always the case. According to one royal expert, the Queen was underwhelmed by Sophie during one of their first encounters in Windsor in 1993, during Edward and Sophie’s early days of courtship.

Sophie, who had a successful career in public relations, came from a solid middle-class background — her father, Christopher Rhys-Jones, was a tyre company executive and her late mother, Mary, a secretary. As such, Sophie was not the typical blue-blooded girlfriend that princes brought home.

Ingrid Seward told the Times: “Sophie wasn’t from that world. She’d never encountered anything like the royal family and was very nervous, shy and tongue-tied when she first met the Queen, who as a result thought she was a bit dull and told a friend: ‘You wouldn’t notice her in a crowd.’

“But the more she saw of her, the more she liked her, especially as she made a big effort with Prince Philip, learning to ride, taking up carriage driving. The Queen always liked people who could deal with her husband. Sophie might be low-key but she’s a lot smarter than people give her credit for.”

The Queen was also said to have respected Sophie and Edward’s decision not to use the HRH title for their children. They can decide to use them from the age of 18, but Sophie previously said she thought this was “highly unlikely”. Daughter Lady Louise has not opted to use the title and son James is not expected to when he turns 18 in December.

Sophie also previously described how they tried to maintain as “normal” a home life as possible. “[The children] go to friends for sleepovers and parties,” she said. “At weekends we do lots of dog walking and stay with friends. I guess not everyone’s grandparents live in a castle, but where you are going is not the important part, or who they are.”

Sophie and Edward have been happily married for more than 25 years ( 
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Getty

Edward and Sophie reportedly first met in the late 1980s while he was dating one of her friends. A few years later, in 1993, the pair crossed paths while Sophie was at a promotion shoot for the Prince Edward Summer Challenge.

The pair started dating shortly afterwards but it would be another five years before the prince popped the question. He got down on one knee while on holiday in the Bahamas, in December 1998, presenting Sophie with a two-carat oval diamond flanked by two heart-shaped gemstones set in 18-carat white gold.

The couple tied the knot in 1999 – and their successful marriage was a source of personal joy for the Queen; Edward is the only one of her four children to have not divorced. Just last year the Duke and Duchess celebrated their 25th wedding anniversary.