While the Royal Family has grappled with fallout of the arrest of Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, Edward and Sophie, the Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh, have been keeping up their duties under the radar
The Royal Family may have been thrown into turmoil following Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor’s arrest last month. But royal expert Jennie Bond exclusively tells the Mirror that the Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh could be the saviours of the monarchy.
Prince Edward and Sophie are known for quietly keeping up with duty – with Sophie even visiting Africa in recent days – and are generally considered by the Palace to be safe pairs of hands. Their steady approach appears to be more needed than ever after the former Duke of York was detained on suspicion of misconduct in a public office after police swooped on his Sandringham home on his 66th birthday, following allegations he shared confidential information during his time as a UK trade envoy with paedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein.
The arrest sent shockwaves through the Firm as his former home of Royal Lodge was searched, and the King was forced to issue a statement saying “the law must take its course”. And former BBC royal correspondent Jennie believes it’s their strong relationship as well Sophie’s down-to-earth demeanour that William and Kate appear to admire, which could prove to be just the tonic for the monarchy.
She told the Mirror: “With the depletion of the working royals, Edward and Sophie have become ever more important in supporting the monarchy. And I’m sure they will continue to have key roles when William becomes King.
“Sophie, in particular, has a girl-next-door charm about her that she has never lost, even though she is now a very senior member of the royal family. She is immensely relatable, with no airs or graces, and she has a close and very relaxed relationship with her nephew, William.”
“I’m sure that Edward and Sophie discuss everything and provide valuable support to one another in this crisis”, Jennie explained. “As the two youngest sons of the late Queen – both of them a decade or more younger than their siblings – Edward and Andrew probably have the closest bond.
“So it has no doubt been hard for Edward to witness his brother’s disgrace. But his first and overriding loyalty is to his wife, who is such a tireless campaigner for women who have been sexually abused, particularly in the war zones of the world. How utterly depressing it must be for Sophie to learn about the long-standing and close friendship between her brother-in-law and a convicted paedophile.”
Last month, Edward became the first senior member of the Royal Family to be challenged about his brother following the release of millions of documents in the Epstein files.
During a trip to Dubai last month, he said it was “really important” to Epstein’s victims. And Jennie added: “I have no doubt that Edward was absolutely sincere when he said that it was really important always to remember the victims, especially as he has watched and admired his wife’s work campaigning for many years against sexual violence.
“And of course, he’s right. At least he spoke up – and that’s what we need from the family instead of the old, outdated strategy of ‘never complain, never explain’.” However, next week, the couple hope to put any wider family worries behind them as they will have cause to celebrate when Edward turns 62 on March 10.
His birthday three years – the first following the death of his late mother – proved pivotal as that is when he was given his late father’s former title of Duke of Edinburgh. This in turn made Sophie the Duchess of Edinburgh, who has in the past remarked it was a “big moment” to be given the same title as her beloved mother-in-law the late Queen.
She and Edward have been married for more than 25 years, with their grown-up children Lady Louise Windsor, 22, and 18-year-old James, Earl of Wessex, continuing their studies. On Edward’s 60th birthday two years ago, Sophie got emotional as she paid a heartfelt tribute to her husband at an engagement at Headingley Stadium in Leeds.
She sweetly described him as “the best of fathers, the most loving of husbands and still is my best friend”. She added: “Like my father-in-law, my husband never seeks compliments for himself. So when acknowledgement has come his way it has always been a total surprise to him, which is why I am grateful for this chance to, for once, be able to publicly celebrate and compliment him.”
Jennie said: “I think one of the secrets of their happy marriage is that they have always been and remain the very best of friends. “They have supported one another through some very tricky times – Edward’s TV company getting into terrible trouble for filming William at university, Sophie being the victim of a hoax by an undercover reporter dressed as a Sheikh, her ectopic pregnancy and then a very difficult childbirth.
“But all of that just seems to have made them stronger and it’s lovely to see them so happy in their long marriage.” In the last week, the couple has spent time apart with the Duchess completing an important two-day trip to Somalia to mark International Women’s Day later this month.
There she visited the capital, Mogadishu, where she promoted two topics close to her heart – the role of women in peacebuilding in former war zones and ensuring accountability for sexual and gender-based violence in conflict. Sophie’s sensitive visit saw her meet female survivors of conflict-related sexual violence, listening to the stories of those who were subjected to sickening acts by terror group al-Shabaab.
She also heard about the dangers posed by the group from the wives of Somali soldiers, whose husbands are away fighting in a small village. Meanwhile, in one of the most emotional parts of her visit, Sophie also dropped by a hospital in Mogadishu offering UK-funded sexual and reproductive health services to women.
There she heard the terrible impact of female genital mutilation, rape and sexual assault on Somali women. Afterwards, she then headed to Kenya to celebrate female leaders and recognise the role females play in preventing and resolving conflicts. In a previous rare interview with the Mirror, Sophie admitted her hard-hitting work highlighting the plight of women involved in sexual violence is “not an easy subject matter” and that it does take its toll emotionally.
In recent years, courtiers and charity bosses have hailed Sophie as a dependable figure in the slimmed-down working monarchy – earning her the often-used description of the Royal Family’s ‘secret weapon’.
And revealing her thoughts about that label, she explained: “I like to fly under the radar. It’s all very well being a secret weapon but if no one knows, maybe it’s too secret.”
However, after a pause, she added: “I suppose I should take it as a backhanded compliment. I don’t see myself in a frontline position per se, that said, admittedly, there are fewer working members of the family these days, so I suppose more and more I’m becoming less secretive.”
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: mirror.co.uk
