A big chunk of the Sussex Squad “cancelled” the Countess of Wessex on Commonwealth Day this year, when Sophie seemed to be more focused on chatting to the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge rather than the Duke and Duchess of Sussex. There were some complaints about body language and optics and such. For what it’s worth, I still think the only big snub was Will and Kate virtually ignoring Harry and Meghan. Sophie and Edward didn’t seem crazy-friendly to Harry and Meghan, but they seemed to be making light conversation and keeping it professional in a general sense.
I bring this up because I really feel like so many people have been itching for a reason to hate on Sophie! And I feel sort of bad because I’m not really feeling it? I don’t think Sophie is pushing herself as a replacement to Meghan, I think the press does that because Kate is so f–king boring and lazy. I don’t think Sophie actively Mean Girl’d Meghan, I think Sophie just benefits from white privilege and being the Queen’s favorite daughter-in-law. Anyway, Sophie was profiled over the weekend in the Sunday Times. There were several items we need to discuss, like the casual mention of the Wessexes’ main home, Bagshot Park, and how it’s not some cute little country cottage – it’s a 57-room Grade II Tudor Gothic mansion and estate, paid for by the Queen. Remember the fuss about Frogmore Cottage and all of that? Yeah. Anyway, the piece is about whether Sophie is the best royal or something, and whether she’s about to take on a bigger role.
On the Duchess of Sussex: Sophie, 55, reflected on her similarities to Meghan, given they both came from middle-class families before marrying into the royals, as well as the harsh scrutiny they’ve received from the media. “Remember, I’d had five years to adjust,” Sophie said of her and Edward’s long relationship, compared to Meghan and Harry’s expedited courtship. “And for our six-month engagement I was even staying in Buckingham Palace. Not that you necessarily know how it will pan out.”
Bagshot Park is close to Frogmore Cottage: “We all try to help any new member of the family,” Sophie said.
She wishes them the best: As Meghan and Harry focus on building a life in America with their son Archie, Sophie wishes them nothing but the best. “I just hope that they will be happy.”
Her two kids will probably have real jobs: Her two children, Lady Louise Windsor, 16, and James, Viscount Severn, 12, are very much being raised with the understanding that they will have to work to make their way in the world. The Countess of Wessex explains: ‘Hence we made the decision not to use HRH titles. They have them and can decide to use them from 18, but I think it’s highly unlikely’. Lady Louise was about to take her GCSEs before the schools closed owing to the pandemic. She will soon start work towards her A Levels and Sophie explains that she hopes that she will choose to go to university.
Whether Sophie is going to take a bigger role post-Sussexit: “We’ve all got our own little portfolios. I don’t see anything changing, but if we’re asked to do more … I don’t know because it hasn’t really happened.’ Later she addresses the same question: ‘I am pretty busy already, so I’m not sure how much more I can do. There are only so many hours in the day. People may pay more attention to what I am doing, but I remain as busy as I have ever been.’
Again, I don’t necessarily believe that Sophie is trying to make some big shady point or anything. I think she’s just in an enormously privileged position and she mostly doesn’t acknowledge it. I think Sophie probably hoped Meghan and Harry would stay, and who knows, maybe Sophie did truly try to help Meghan when Meghan first got engaged. But yeah, this family is just dysfunctional. Once you start to pull at one of those threads, the whole thing comes apart.
“If anyone in the family could relate to Meghan, surely it would be her… ‘We all try to help a new member,’ Sophie says”.
Prince Andrew is out. Megxit has happened. Is the Countess of Wessex the safe pair of hands the royal family needs? https://t.co/IrAhOYNbMn
— The Sunday Times Magazine (@TheSTMagazine) June 7, 2020
Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, WENN.
Sophie is forgettable.
Why the royal family are pushing her to be more vocal is beyond me.
Just look at the Sunday Times article on Twitter, zero engagement. Now, I’m no twitter genius and I may be looking at it wrong….
But nobody gives a hoot. 😴
Wrt Meghan, Sophie can’t even say her name. “We all try to help new members of the family….” I bet she has almost zero personal relationship with Meghan.
Yeah, I’m not a fan at all.
That’s what I thought when I saw that statement. There was no personal comment about visiting Frogmore or anything.
Yeah she’s plain, but a lot of cultures prefer people like that.
@ Yinyang : Exactly. Sophie and Kate are bland, Anne’s husband Tim is forgettably plain – even more so than her first husband Mark Philips (if that is even possible). And the BRF especially prefer their married-in’s to be plain. I think it’s part of the job description. They don’t call it The Firm for nothing.
@Ali, I think the Royals wanted Sophie to refute recent allegations that the Firm was not supportive of Meghan, either in her becoming a part of their family or against the negative press onslaught. It feels to me like the whole purpose was to gaslight Meghan
Yes, that was exactly the point. Especially her snarky little comment about not taking over a charity, but to hold steady as a worthless figure head. She knows what side her bread is buttered.
@Kaiser, I’m glad you’ve written about this, but I’m not sure I agree that Sophie is not pushing herself to be a replacement for Meghan. Sure, the press and the palace are definitely the ones leading the charge, but Sophie is the one who agreed to be the Sunday Times magazine cover story for an article talking about whether she is the one to “steady the royal ship” after “Megxit”. She is at the very least a willing participant and beneficiary of the narrative that Meghan derailed the monarchy and she (Sophie) is the one to fix the trouble she caused and “get them back on track”. She also must be aware that some people’s opinions of her took a turn after she appeared to flat out ignore Meghan and Harry at the Commonwealth service, as the footage shows only Edward smiled at them and engaged them in conversation, whilst Sophie only spoke to William and Kate and almost avoided even looking directly at Meghan and Harry. She wants to use the interview to turn around any negative speculation by claiming to “always help new members of the family” (but doesn’t expand on anything she did to help) and wanting Harry and Meghan to “be happy”.
All she has done is prove that she is more than willing to go along with the press and use the “Meghan was a disrupter” narrative they created to promote herself, and in speaking publicly about Harry and Meghan in an interview, she’s shown that all along, there was actually nothing stopping her from giving a kind word or supportive gesture towards Meghan sooner. Like the rest of the family, she sat back quietly for the almost 4 years that Meghan was being bashed, yet wants to talk now that she’s gone and the damage is done. A show of support wouldn’t have put a stop to things, but could have gone a long way personally for Meghan, who already revealed that nobody ever asked her if she was okay throughout all of this. It doesn’t sit well with me that the article/Sophie wants to “reflect on her similarities to Meghan” and their “harsh scrutiny in the press” as if they have that in common, when we all know Sophie was only ever really criticised after the topless photo leak and the allegations that she made unflattering comments about the royals and the prime minister’s wife. Apart from that, she wasn’t torn to shreds just for blinking like Meghan has been, and unlike with Meghan, the royals actually rallied around her. Where was Sophie’s attempt at solidarity when Meghan was there?
💯👋
Abso-freaking-lutely. Well said.
“forgettable” is how most people characterize most middle aged women. . . .
yourself included, probably.
Angelina Jolie is middle aged, JLo is middle aged. Angela Basset is middle aged. Shall I go on or do you get my drift? So no, middle aged is not synonymous with bland and boring and forgettable. Nice try though.
She’s kind of neutral for me. She could have done more to support Meghan given the insane press that was surrounding her to show solidarity. But I also don’t think she’s someone who was actively going out of her way to make her life worse? Kind of just ‘there’. Which, in this reality isn’t enough anymore.
But I do tend to think the press is trying to run with her as a Meghan replacement and she’s not involved in that. I think she’s probably quite content flying a little under the radar, and it sounds like she really doesn’t want to pick up work, right? Like that response screamed “oh god… maybe they will make me do more! I don’t want that!” to me.
Agree. I also think if she becomes a press darling show knows she will then be targeted but the other more insecure members of higher rank. She did aim to be the new Diana for a while, but that was years ago.
The busy already comment is a bit eye rolly, but at least she’s been doing about 300 engagements a year so it’s not like she’s ever been as lazy as Kate.
Yes. I think she’s at least self aware enough to recognize that she’d be made into a bigger target, and she doesn’t want that.
But the work thing amused me. You’re right, she’s not nearly as lazy as Kate, but she’s definitely no heavy hitter. I know that a lot of Anne’s engagements are quick appearances and all, but at least she’s just doing a TON of them. I think pretty much everyone would give any working royal a little more slack on their numbers if they were working on a big, time consuming USEFUL project, too.
I don’t mind Sophie, she has not been mean intentionally to Meghan. I think, she had returned the previous day from a trip from Siudan, and must have been feeling a bit jet lagged and grumpy. So Squad lets give her the benefit of doubt and let it slide. I don’t think she wants to replace Meghan, it’s the press trying thrir divide and rule tactic
She was tired and grumpy so she couldn’t be pleasant to Meghan and Harry? She was all sweetness and light while yucking it up with Unable at the same event. In fact, her entire act there looked like she was deliberately cutting out H&M. She was mean-girling.
@guest, yes, yucking it up is right; and, it looked to me as though they were both playing to the cameras. I don’t recall the Cambridges and Wessexes being sooooo friendly at a public service before. Sophie was definitely signaling on whose side she was.
I go back and forth on Sophie. I don’t think she was particularly welcoming to Meghan in general, and I do think she ignored her at the Commonwealth service. Apparently she made the “degree wife” comment?
But besides that, I don’t think she was actively working to push Meghan out. The things about Meghan that triggered Kate wouldn’t trigger Sophie – her popularity and star power (Sophie has never been covered the way Kate is, at least not in the past 10 years, and Sophie has never had star power), her ease with public speaking (Sophie can deliver a speech just fine, not amazing but fine), her work ethic (Sophie has always worked consistently.)
Sophie and Meghan may not have been BFFs, but I doubt they were enemies either.
I do like that Sophie kind of nixes the idea that she will be asked to do more, saying it hasn’t happened yet and she’s already pretty busy. The one who would be asked to do more would be the one who does very little as it is – i.e. Kate.
Charles was planning to remove Edward and Sophie as working royals in his slimming program. He fired the Queen’s private secretary, Christopher Geidt, who pushed to keep them on the books as the new elders for the family firm. Now Sophie gets to stay in Bagshot with Sovereign Grant funding – because Harry and Meghan have left. She’s not innocent in this.
She’s been doing ‘humanitarian tours’ that would have people complaining if it was Meghan. She just submitted a photo to the photo project Keen was promoting two weeks ago.
Sophie has always known which ass to kiss. Her interests in horse racing, military history, and carriage driving only exist to ingratiate her with the Queen and Philip.
Meh, she may not be innocent, and like I said I don’t think she was particularly welcoming, and she may have benefited from Sussexity, but I don’t think she was the driving force behind any of it.
Watch the Commonwealth video again. I think Sophie had plenty of hands in the attacking of Meghan, while Edward was completely unaware of his wife’s machinations.
Sophie has been cunning in the last few years, knowing she needs to kiss up to William and Kate to stay in the funding stream. Her public antics with both W&K in the past few years have soured me on her.
Yeah, I’ve seen the commonwealth video a bunch of times. Again I’m not saying Sophie is a saint, I just don’t think she was at the top of the list of reasons why H&M wanted out.
I don’t think she was part of the smear campaign but I don’t think she was very welcoming either.
And what are these ‘humanitarian tours’? Who are they exactly helping? Who’s funding these tours? Do people in the Commonwealth even know who she is? It all just seems a bit pointless to me.
I think Sophie’s actions relate more to where she thinks the power resides and it wasn’t with the Sussexes. Edward and Sophie are in this weird position of having to please whoever is deciding about the funding and while they are set up as long as the Queen is alive, it is more unclear with Charles and William. I think her actions at the service shows just how petty the Cambridges are and she knows that and wanted them pleased.
Sure I don’t agree with it, but sophie and edward are in a weaker position than others and more reliant on their favour. They are in the position that Harry and Meghan will be once the queen passes, which makes their decision to just get out now even smarter.
Sophie and edward were going to have their own jobs early on and it’s unfortunate that this changed.
That said all this comes down to Kate being too lazy to do her job. Sophie shouldn’t be outworking the FFQC.
I’ve never been particularly keen on Sophie and her tin-wire tiaras (not her fault to be fair that the Queen is so tight fisted towards her, wrt tiaras). But she raised my suspicions (and resentment), when she wore an Emilia Wickstead outfit straight after the designer’s derogatory comments about Meghan were made public.
It felt like public support for the designer and her mean comments. Surprise surprise, Kate also wore EW around the same time. So their low key mean-girling of Meghan was early and clear, if you knew what to look for.
Sophie has her own family and work life. Do you really think she was breathlessly following the gossip about Meghan and plotting ways to bring her down? Charles is not going to kick his middle aged brother and SIL out the firm or the house where they picked up half the renovation bill.
Not to mention that they will be well provided for in HM’s will.
Sophie’s work life and getting to stay in that massive home depend on her remaining a working royal. Charles was eliminating the Wessexes as working royals. Sophie and her PR background has always been about positioning herself to keep getting funding. That includes these meangirl games in cahoots with Kate.
The Wessexes are the only ones that don’t have an outside, private home. Anne has one, Andrew has/had several. The Wessexes are the Kents of this generation, the poor relations.
There’s a very awkward clip of both the Duchess & the Countess catching each other’s eye and quickly looking away that I saw on Twitter the other day. Strange a$$ family!
The photo Times used though screams “Yes, Sophie can relate to Meghan. Look at her with another black person”… SMH
Saw that too. No love lost between the two.
They really need to stop trying to make Sophie Wessex happen.
Sophie needs to stop trying to make Sophie happen.
Poor, thirsty Sophie with the most unfortunate Tiaras.
She’s been there for years, what is she gonna do now that she hasn’t been doing? She definitely ignored Meghan and Harry at the CW ceremony. It would’ve taken 0 effort to lean over and speak but she chose not to. Her and everyone else needs to stfu with this “we tried to help/welcome her” bullshit. If her and Harry had gotten an iota of support within the family, they probably would’ve stayed, but what else can you do when your family is the problem? Anyways, good luck to Ms. Fiesta.
She had her head turned the other way for most of the time. She knew there would be cameras there. As soon as the Cambridge’s came she was suddenly very chatty. It was so obvious.
Agree with you S808. She was Definitely mean girl at the Commonwealth service… and this from a woman on her 50’s. Sorry, if you act like a bitch be prepared to be called one.
Totally agree S808, Carrie, and Ginger —- Also, she looked like she was sucking a lemon at that wreath laying ceremony (first photo) when she had to stand next to Meghan. If you watch that video, she never once acknowledges Meghan and her body language and facial expressions are extremely hostile. Then, I think she was pretty nasty herself at Commonwealth service. Difference between Kate and Sophie is that Sophie knows to downplay and hide her dislike of Meghan when she is speaking to press. That’s her marketing background. She talks the talk, but does not walk the walk. I disagree with Kaiser on this one.
Body language tells all. I know they’re at a memorial service, but let’s be honest, the sheer hostility in the air between those two is not because they’re overcome with grief for heroes that died decades ago.
This is Meghan + Sophie’s version of the trooping balcony scenes between Meghan and the Tights-Crier. Meghan looks absolutely miserable and Sophie looks like she can smell something disgusting.
If I had to guess, Sophie has always resented Meghan’s senior position and the idea/reality of Sophie having to curtesy to Meghan must be teeth shatteringly mortifying.
Finally, can anyone think of a single picture, where we can see Meghan and Sophie interacting in any way at all?
At Royal Ascot she rode in the same carriage as Meghan and seemed friendly enough then if I remember correctly. That was early on then, though.
The Sophie giving dirty looks to Kate while she is twirling her hair at a Remembrance Day ceremony remains my favourite photo.
I believe the Sophie and Meghan photo was at the same ceremony where there is a doozy of a look given by Camilla to Kate with the Queen looking ahead and oblivious to it all.
“I think Sophie just benefits from white privilege and being the Queen’s favorite daughter-in-law” Absolutely. And isn’t it right that she use that to help Meghan? Just like we need to use our white privilege to bring about change? Silence supports the oppressor. She chooses the status quo because it benefits her and she doesn’t want to be treated like Meghan. I’m out on Sophie until she shows me change.
“We all try to help any new member of the family,” Sophie said… She knows this is lies and said it anyway. And this is why Sophie is one of them.
Honestly if I were Sophie I would be lowkey pissed that the press only gave a shit about me just because two other people left.
I’m neutral on her. She works hard and has great numbers. Her behaviour was rude and unnecessary at the Commonwealth service, but I don’t actively dislike or like Sophie
For a family who literally believes their bloodline makes them superior to others, they sure seem to rely on the married-ins to “save” them alot.
And the new blood saves them in the literal sense too. Generations upon generations of 1st, 2nd, 3rd cousin marriages have left that family looking like a slapped inbred a$$.
Oh my f*ck. I’m so glad I wasn’t drinking anything when I read this.
Comment of the week! Lmfao!
Maybe she’s kind but she also knows where her bread is buttered and will be in the future. If she’s picking sides, it will be with the person in charge of her funding.
^ This.
It can be a possibility that she’s civil but not friendly with Meghan.
Before Meghan, she was the one who was the Queen’s favourite. Kate could not threaten her. She was the one with substance. Kate was frivolous and could not even eke out a proper speech. Meghan had the whole package; she was passionate, she knew what she was advocating, she did her research and she brought on the glam. If the BRF focused more on WK and HM, her profile and the pie for her kids could be way lesser after the Queen died. Even Edward seemed friendlier to Meghan. I just can’t comprehend why she seemed so standoffish to Meghan and Harry at their last get together and this is the only possibility I could think of. I could be wrong but there is no reason not to say hi and smile!
The Times article also stated that Sophie had become a confidante to Meghan, which had my eyebrows up in my hairline. Felt like it was trying to clean up her Commonwealth Day tackiness.
which is a curious thing to posit, because if she really WAS a confidante to Meghan then that makes her behavior towards Meghan at Commonwealth Day even more egregious. If they were never close, merely “coworkers” in the family Firm then ok, but to say that no, they were actually very close, and then to see Edward chatting away pleasantly with Meghan and Harry while Sophie actively ignores her, just makes Sophie look even worse.
the more I reflect on it, Edward treating Meghan so warmly on Commonwealth Day was really an act of kindness. Maybe there is one good one left in the bunch over there.
@Sunday, Tim Laurence has also spoken to Meghan and been friendly toward her at events where she was otherwise ignored by other family members (e.g., her first festival of remembrance).
Regarding Edward, he and his son James were the only two Royal family members who actually looked at Meghan and Harry during the vows portion of their wedding. The others all seemed preoccupied by their programs or a fly on the wall on the other side of the room .
A picture worth a thousand words. Sophie playing kissie kissie with W&K while ignoring H&M. She has been a background player for years and needs to remain in her dutiful position of irrelevance.
Doesn’t it also depend on which picture you see?
https://www.newidea.com.au/media/83899/28d5f008-cc91-420a-8753-1cba3b57af09.jpg
Eddie chatted. Sophie had better things to do, read a pamphlet. 🙂
she definitely ignored them. I think Edward went out of his way to talk to them like he did (fully facing them etc) to try to hide the fact that Sophie was ignoring them.
Edward was lovely. Sophie preferred to remain in her white privilege seat.
She definitely snubbed H&M on CW day and went out of her way to NOT speak to them. Edward was the only decent and polite person in that room. I used to be pretty neutral on Sophie, but she completely lost me that day.
She lost me as well that day. Edward’s behavior makes me think he was oblivious of his wife’s behind-the-scenes games and machinations.
Same. I’ve always bought up her numbers and work.
Totally agree – I was on the fence about her but it was clear at the service who’s side she was on. There has always been rumblings about her and her bad attitude.
I agree. She went massively down in my estimations.
Sophie is bland too. Just like Kate. And I’m sure Tatler feels the same way.
Over the years, she always seemed to dress Louise in ragmuffin clothes. Too short sleeves, raggedity hand me down clothes. Only recently did she get better at it.
They are supposedly in line to be the Duke/Duchess of Edinburgh when Phillip is gone.
Sophie definitely snubbed at least Meghan. I saw a clip on Twitter where Meghan and Sophie look towards each other at the same time and Sophie quickly looked away.
And notice the facial expressions. Meghan was warm, wanting to connect whereas Sophie was cold and quickly averted her gaze. They couldn’t have been more obvious.
Big question for me is the tone of: “hope they are happy.” Tone would be everything here.
In terms of all the other stuff, she knows where the power lies and it isn’t with M&H. Which just reinforces how mind-blowing a move it is that M&H walked away from this. The forces around them were probably pretty powerful, including family pressure x10 of “stay one of us – don’t disappoint grandma and dad.” That took a lot of courage that I think often gets lost in these types of stories.
I always thought sophie was ok, i even found her taste in fashion at least interesting, she is better at public speaking than the stuttering idiot kate but after cw service, its clear she was butt licking w and k and purposely snubbing meghan and harry. And lets not forget, meghan said herself no one asked if she was ok. So sophie, who knows how hard it can be to enter that family and is a mum made 0 effort to help Meghan. And lived near by. Its not ok to sit back and watch someone in your family be racially abused. And she’s no feminist, shes a family cling on sucking off the queen and licking every ass she can to have her down the rung position. I dont care if she smiles and waves 6 months of Sunday’s, shes trash like the rest of them.
+1
+2
Did anyone see that clip on the Daily Mail? They have an online segment called ‘Palace Confidential’ which, lets face it only exists because of the interest Meghan has bought to the RF.
Anyway, one of the Daily Mail ghouls must have mentioned Meghan in the same sentence as Sophie and a lady piped up saying that no gives a shit about Sophie and that Meghan is the one who has all the interest and sells copies/ paparazzi pics. She literally called Meghan a Lamborghini and Sophie a Ford Fiesta! Harsh!
And she said something else that was very telling… she mentioned how deep down everyone was actually missing Meghan.
I saw that and it was very telling. Even the Daily Fail who hates Meghan with a passion had to admit that Sophie was as boring as Ford Fiesta (reliable but nothing exciting) vs Meghan’s sleek beauty and polish of a Lamborghini LOL…. Acknowledging that they miss her was admitting they knew her star power.
I thought the big thing, in early-royalty-scandal-number-6 of the nineties, was Sophie pimping her PR form to get wealthy clients a royal connection. And then her work partner was caught on tape saying Edward was probably gay/bisexual while Sophie was blatantly recoded hustling for money from wealthy types for ‘coronets for cash’ scheme selling access to royals. She sure fits in with the family! And she or a Wessex courier are planting these dogooder stories! Perhaps Edward’s sexuality (whatever it is) is another way that the royal rata keeps getting information dripped to them.
Sophie is deployed for damage control. The Firm knows there is a perception the Windsors aided and abetted the press attacks and it’s sticking to the BRF like gorilla glue.
“If anyone in the family could relate to Meghan, surely it would be her… – Yeah, the Black woman!
“Is the Countess of Wessex the safe pair of hands the royal family needs?” – I thought the BRF was the most respected institution in the world, so why are the British Press constantly talking about how fragile it is… to the point it needs a safe pair of hands?
I don’t think Sophie wants to really be in the lime light. She’s got it good now, a big old house, her privacy (and her children’s), able to swan around the globe doing things that one really cares about. I wouldn’t be surprised if she’s annoyed with Harry and Meghan leaving cos now she has extra pressure and exposure on her. Maybe her and Hubby might even have to fund raise! But they should have thought about that while the Sussexes were still around.
What cracks me up is that it’s considered newsworthy that her kids might actually work for a living when they get older. For the rest of us, that’s a given.
And these kids have the best and most exclusive education, a place at the most elite Universities (regardless of their grades) and have access to internships and job opportunities that 99% of people would not get a chance in.
Google “the Sophie tapes” or “Sophie PR business debt” or “Sophie clothing expenses”
Check the info on the financials on the Wessex Foundation that’s just been released.
She and Edward do put in the work representing the Queen but she’s just as out-of-touch as the rest of the RF.
As an aside, Edward is supposed to inherit the Duke of Edinburgh title when Prince Phillip dies which was the tradeoff for making he and Sophie Earl&Countess and not Duke&Duchess. That caused more than a little upset at the time.
And her accepting a private gift of jewelry from the Bahrain royals.
I doubt she was actively plotting against Meghan. You don’t have to like everyone in your family. I have a few married in my family relatives that I choose to ignore on funerals and weddings too. Say hi and bye and that’s it.
Trouble is she showed the world she wasn’t even courteous to say “hi & bye” at the Commonwealth service. Her husband was making conversation, she clearly was not.
You and your family aren’t being televised worldwide. She and the Cambridges knew literally the world would be watching thier behavior that day, and they chose to act like that
It must really grate on Sophie’s nerves that the only reason why this interview is getting any traction what so ever is because of the mention of Meghan.
I’ve always had a bit of an affinity for Sophie, she and I are around the same age and while I don’t always like her fashion choices, I’ve always felt that “at least she’s taken some fashion risks”. All that being said, after seeing her behavior at the CW service I decided that she isn’t a person that I care to follow.
This is definitely damage control to mitigate whatever the family thinks is coming in Omid’s book and also to shore up the family image in the midst of the BLM movement. Hence the “Of course, the family was welcoming to Meghan!” counterstory. It’s rather nakedly cynical. Sophie putting her PR experience to use one more time.
That’s a good point – also notice that she uses the most nonspecific language possible- “we all” (not I) “try to” (not do) help “new members” (not Meghan). So she can’t say she tried to support Meghan without fear of contradiction.
Also, what is all this about the royal women not “taking Meghan under their wing” and showing her “how it’s done”? I’ve noticed this undercurrent in a few different articles now, and that is some revisionist and colonialist bullshit. AS IF Kate was going to give her public speaking tips. AS IF she should be blamed for not waiting around for her prince to propose while the courtesans “adjusted” to her presence, however long that would have taken (spoiler: forever).
Meghan’s problem wasn’t that she needed time to “ease in” to a role she seemed perfectly prepared for (she was a UN spokesperson already if I recall). It was the extra burden of being the target of racist attacks.
And “I just hope they will be happy”? It’s hard to read tone in print, but this is exactly what you say about an ex that has moved on and you haven’t, where you do not at all wish them happiness but don’t want to appear embittered, so you grit your teeth and force a smile: “Yup, we’re still friends. I wish them well. So, so well. All the best.”
Sophie and Edward have opted to be completely bland and neutral as a strategy. The Queen has come to favor them the most, Charles doesn’t seem to hate them and they can get away with things like living in a 57 room mansion (paying nothing!) without the press getting on their case about it.
I feel like Sohphie is in a weird position. She had some shady stuff years ago that she’s finally been able to shrug off and fly on the radar with. And now the Sussex are leaving and she thrust back into the spotlight. On one hand, she’s gonna be a under a microscope and have expectations She doesn’t want. On the other hand, they were almost cut off from funding before Meghan and Harry left and now they are at least temporarily saved from that. I feel like she followed the money and picked her side with Kate and Wills, but she’s still trying to bring as little attention to herself as possible.
Yes, give careers to rich kids that don’t need them and take those opportunites away from the poor, who cares. Smh. Anyway, the Sussexs will be happy, Americans will take better care of them.
I’m not so sure that the Wessex kids won’t need them.
Queenie is not as rich as people think she is (the majority of the wealth people claim she has is wrapped up in stuff the government won’t let her sell and real estate which is too $$ to sell in less than 5 years and has rather large upkeep costs), Queenie will probably be leaving literally everything she owns to Charles so as to avoid the inheritance taxes, Charles keeps talking about that ‘slimmed down monarchy’ which would leave the Wessexes out in the cold, the Wessexes haven’t worked for over a decade, and the Wessexes didn’t have huge personal fortunes to begin with. Add in the costs of maintaining the Royal Farce for more than a decade and some questionable financial stories from multiple family members…definitely for the best that Louise and James have their own careers.
why was she mum on andrew but had no problems talking about m&h (the ~drama they’ve all moved on from)?
i also soured on her after the cw service, but i was more interested in her motivations. first and foremost, she seems like a supreme ass kisser, so it makes sense that she felt inclined to visibly align herself with will and kate. but it probably also bothered her that her and meghan covered the same issues, but meghan got way more exposure and was labeled a trailblazer. and that meghan wouldn’t just put up with the poor treatment, and fought for herself and her immediate happiness. i woudn’t be surprised if there was some spite and resentment there for those reasons.
Nah. Sophie is canceled. She can go sit her ford festia butt with Kate and William.
Sophie and Meghan seemed friendly at that 2018 Ascot in the same carriage but then I thought Meghan and Kate were friendly too. Guess they are good at putting up appearances which made Sophie’s absolute snubbing of Meghan and Harry at the Commonwealth Day service so egregious. If some of the family were going to be publicly unfriendly what was the point of the Queen inviting them back? they sure missed the diversity points.
Sophie didn’t have to mention the Sussexes at all but did for clicks and as mentioned above, for damage control. Now international press are saying things like the Queen’s daughter in law talks welcoming Meghan lol. She also called herself a feminist which don’t think she has before even though she’s been championing gender equality. Guess it’s not ‘controversial’ now.
The royal commentators are desperate for someone they have access to to garner the attention Meghan does. Some were complaining that Sophie has been slept on by international press. You can’t force interest though and the U.K. press have also ignored her for years.
considering the shady stuff they’ve been doing, no surprise they want to fly under the radar. Isn’t their charitable foundation being investigated?
@abritguest: “If some of the family were going to be publicly unfriendly (at the Service) what was the point of the Queen inviting them back?”
Good question. It was reported that the Queen wanted them to show a united front. That did not happen. Sophie Mean Girl’d the Sussexes along with Kate, in part, I think to make a public show of solidarity with the Cambridges. But she also seems like such a suck up to the Queen and someone who would not do it if the Queen disapproved. That to me says that Petty Betty may have been OK with the Sussexes being very publicly dissed.
Her trying to rewrite the truth makes me so incredibly angry. They are such craven opportunists and using the current political and social situation we are in to all of a sudden pretend they cared about Meghan when we all saw their hostility, racism, and indifference. I have no interest in this woman and how the press is positioning her as the new Meghan. They really are despicable. We all saw how she was toward her at the Commonwealth service with her deliberate rudeness. She can sit and spin. Never interested in her, not gonna be. The royals have their kingdom back.
Nope, I disagree. Sophie definitely Mean Girl’d Meghan at the Commonwealth Service. She also made that disgusting show of solidarity with the Cambridges, slobbering all over them at the joint Wessex and Sussex engagement this year.
Also, is she one of Martha Louise’s racist friends? Is that why she was not at Ari Behn’s funeral?
Sophie isn’t friends with Martha Louise. I think you are mistaking Martha Louise for Prince Joachim of Denmark who Edward and Sophie are friends with (and Edward is godfather to one of his sons, Prince Nikolai I think).
LOL, so you say @missm! Sophie and Princess Martha Louise have known each other for at least eighteen years, since Sophie attended her and Ari Behn’s wedding in Norway. Sophie has been the British rep for the Royal family at European royal events for a long time. ML and Ari also lived in London for years; and, it was said that Sophie and ML are good friends and socialized outside of royal events.
If you Google their names a picture will pop up of them going to an event in Norway together a few years ago looking like, well, good friends.
ML recently said that since dating Durek since last Spring she has seen racist attitudes of some of her “friends” toward him. And, Sophie does not show up at the funeral of a man she has known for nearly two decades?
I also thought it was interesting that Sophie basically said that there’s no increase to the work load since H&M left which undercut the Cambridge’s cry of “we’re so overworked because my selfish sister-in-law made my brother leave”.
Says a lot that they even have to go to Sophie, the spouse of the monarch‘s youngest son and soon to be relegated minor royal if not there already, to get better PR because the direct in line FFK and FFQC just don’t cut it.
Ms Ford Fiesta need to not add her two cents in regards to H&M. She made her stance clear during the commonwealth service.
I went to YouTube to check the video
I am appalled at her behaviour
The comments and the H&M hate on youtube rivals the daily Fail… 🙄
@ BELLA DUPONT “Sophie can’t even say her name. “We all try to help new members of the family….”
She’s taking a leaf from Amy Cooper’s playbook🙄even when the guy had been same last name as her she wanted to subjugate him by erasing his name.
I disagree with you Kaiser, rewatch the church service and you’ll see that only Edward chatted with the Sussexs. Sly sophie probably thought ignoring them will put her in the keenbridges good side. Pathetic
Oops, forgot to add that I totally think Sophie is gaslighting Meghan when she says in the article that all the family members help out new members. As if they all supported Meghan in transitioning into her royal life. Bulls**t.
I know that you won’t post this. Constantly pitting women against women — Kate against Meghan and Sophie against Meghan, the Queen against Meghan is not what Meghan would want. She’s a girl’s girl. It’s what you do constantly when covering the Royal Family. It’s frustrating to watch over and over again.
@Rhonda, most here are reacting to Sophie’s (and Kate’s) behaviour at the Commonwealth Service. Her very public blanking of the Sussexes was done purposely, very obvious, mean and horrible.
Sophie herself showed us all who she is. She pitted herself against Meghan.
You have a small window into what happened that day. A few cultivated photos over the course of an event. You don’t know what happened behind the scenes. How they greeted H&M before? — probably with a lot of love. Can you imagine being judged yourself in this way? Answer for every expression? Every comment? Who else thinks they could withstand this level of criticism?
The thing is @Rhonda, Sophie is a pro, she knows that the cameras will be trained on them, particularly as this was the first public appearance with the Sussexes in months. If she could smile for the Cambridges she could have smiled for the Sussexes.
Sophie’s show of disdain for Meghan was very much purposeful and for the cameras.
@Rhonda – it wasn’t a few cultivated photos – many of us watched it unfold as it happened. Sophie knows which side her bread is buttered on, and she tried to score points with K by mean-girling in solidarity. It was vile and childish.
@Rhonda – “Can you imagine being judged yourself in this way? Answer for every expression? Every comment? Who else thinks they could withstand this level of criticism?” And yet Meghan has had every single look, expression, body language and word analyzed for close to 4 years – she has had to bear the brunt of this brutal scrutiny twisted in a negative way on a global level. You think it’s unfair for Sophie but not for Meghan?
I did not say it was fair for Meghan. I don’t think anyone could or should bear this level of scrutiny. My point is that women don’t need to be pitted against other women. You think this level of vitriol directed at Sophie is fair because Meghan has been treated the same? I am pretty sure that Meghan would not want anyone treated like that, so I don’t think she would appreciate you championing her by tearing Sophie down.
Sophie did not speak to Harry or Meghan so it’s not a Meghan v sophie story. And her husband managed to politely chat with Harry and Meghan. Perhaps had Sophie not then hung over the back of the seats of the Cambridges it would not have looked as bad, but anyone with eyes can she what she did that day.
It’s very Orwellian to tell people not to trust what they see with their eyes, but that’s been the spin on trying to justify the visibly rude behaviour of both Sophie and Kate that day. Edward and William managed to be polite, William less so, but they were not doing the bitch face or silent treatment that Kate and Sophie did.
Yes! Misogyny is so unbelievably ingrained in society, and in increasingly subtle ways now, that women are basically brainwashed into thinking it’s just part of normal social interactions. If we constantly paint other women as catty, hysterical, vapid, b*tchy losers then, of course, men will get to keep most of the power – that’s probably why these stupid narratives haven’t changed much over centuries and centuries.
This quote from Linda Kerber’s book hit me like a ton of bricks: “when American educators discussed the uses of female intellect much of the discussion was explicitly anti-intellectual.” This way of discussion is still pervasive and goes beyond intellect into everything women do, be it our careers, charity work, politics, achievements etc.,. You could literally substitute anything for the word ‘intellect’ in that quote and it will still ring true. We deserve better than this, we deserve better than the bullsh*t society has been heaping on us since time immemorial.
Sorry @nowords but if I think a woman is a “catty, hysterical, vapid (or) bitchy loser” then I will call her such. Sophie, because of her behaviour, does not warrant respect. This thread is about Sophie. It could just as easily rip into William for his appalling behaviour. Meghan had waved to and smiled at him when he entered the Service yet he just looked at Harry and said “hello Harry” and then ignored them. He publicly dissed Meghan. He is as much of an as* as Sophie.
^This, Mary. If Edward had behaved like Sophie, we’d be making these comments about his behavior.
Yet another brand new name on here, trying to shut down valid discussion by claiming the discussions are anti-feminist. Take it back to the Fail and tumblr.
I’ve posted here before. I agree though that I should not be reading this site anymore because a lot of this is not valid discussion. It’s mob mentality nastiness, cruelty completely out of proportion to the supposed transgressions.
I doubt it was sincere, but why is she the only one who has said ‘I hope they will be happy’? Maybe I have forgotten but all I have heard is ‘incandescent with rage’, ‘furious at larger workload’, and best for last ‘threw the Cambridge children under the bus’.
She may not be sincere but at least has the decency to say the correct thing.
I saw that Mike Tindall said something recently but it did not make much press.
Sophie wasn’t nice to Meghan at CW day because she didn’t think she had to be. William and Kate will determine their paychecks, not Harry & Meghan.
Sophie may actually like Meghan personally but Meghan’s not paying her bills. The Queen, and then Charles and then William will be paying her bills. Sophie was tryiing to secure her royal social security by showing Future King William and Future Queen Kate that her allegiance is with them.
1. I was shocked when the Queen gave M and H Frogmore. If you’ve seen the houses TQ has given her children, and W and K, it felt like a slap in the face. I 100% agree with Kaiser on this, and we’ve discussed it on twitter a bunch of times. Frogmore- when you look at the other estates….. there’s a shocking difference.
2. Sophie made MASSIVE mistakes at the beginning of her marriage to Edward. She got caught on tape gossiping about Charles, the Queen’s mother, Camilla, the works! It was a big scandal at the time. There were conflicts with her career, etc. She “got back in line” – quit her career and Refocused on the Firm. It’s all rather interesting- especially with Charles. Edward was filming Prince William at college and got busted doing it. He was making a film without permission from Charles and certainly not from William. That’s when Charles really started pushing for a “slimmed down” monarchy.
3. I think it’s clear it’s “any man for himself” when it comes to the BRF. The Queen is a survivor, she’s not to be underestimated.
4. This article was, to me, a signal that Edward and Sophie are back in the fold
All things considered, the one positive aspect of Sophie is the fact that she does, in fact, put in the work. And in spite of the stuff that happened early on in her marriage, she’s actually one of the few royals you can argue hasn’t “put a foot wrong” in recent memory.
That being said, the other thing about being a plain, hardworking bore who doesn’t get much press attention is the fact that your drawbacks are less likely to be public knowledge. For example, that one time a photographer got a picture of Sophie shouting at one of her servants. There’s been some (not a lot, but some) gossip that she’s not exactly the warmest and cuddliest person to work for, but no one’s leaking that to the press and using it to excoriate Sophie because, goodness knows, she’s not a threat to anyone else’s popularity and far enough down the line of succession that it doesn’t really matter as long as she follows the rules and keeps her head down and doesn’t draw too much attention to herself, positive or negative.
Sophie is good, because she makes the monarch, Queen Elizabeth, look good, without overshadowing her, or Prince Charles or Prince William. She’s practically a non-entity to them. As long as she stays that way, she’ll be treated just fine.
ETA: The other thing about Sophie and Edward is the fact that they were, until a few years ago, really worried about how they would be treated after Charles slimmed down the monarchy. One of their worries was regarding Baghot park. They only live there because the Queen allows them to, with the understanding that they’re public servants for the moment which I guess warrants getting to live in a 57 room house.
They were looking at the reality of having to trim the fat in their own end at some point. While I don’t think they outright feel this way, I do think that they expect Meghan’s departure to work out in their favour, because Charles will need them more now than before when he had both his kids. That being said, it can also work out the opposite way, in that it’d be easy for people to say, “Well Meghan and Harry are doing just fine on their own, so why can’t all the extra royals do the same thing?”
What I can’t get is why none of them Will-not, Kate or Sophie has the brains to put on a smile and interact with H&M at the CW. Even if I can’t stand someone, at work events I know to fake smile and make polite conversation – which Meghan managed to do beautifully
It just beggars belief that when in public they didn’t ‘act’ a little in order to get some good publicity and make the story go away. Edward knows that- and clearly failed to give his wife the memo.
Maybe the decided he would suck up to H&M and she would to W&K and cover both bases?