And so, in addition to becoming parents in 2003, Sophie and Edward dedicated themselves solely to the job of royalty—and senior working royals they’ve remained, only increasing their share of the workload as time went by and the queen started thinning her schedule.
In fact, the Earl and Countess of Wessex were among the first in the family to venture back into making in-person appearances following the COVID-19 lockdown, which they spent working remotely at Bagshot Park. Their 56-room home in Surrey, a wedding gift from the queen, is also about a 20-minute drive from Windsor Castle, where the queen and Philip were doing their social distancing. Sophie was also known to be volunteering at a nearby food bank.
The Wessexes’ office has also been based at Buckingham Palace, which contributed to Sophie’s close bond with the queen, and they share the Royal Family social media account.
“If Sophie wasn’t there, the Queen would only have a lady-in-waiting for those feminine chats she likes,” a royal aide told Seward in 2013. “The Princess Royal [Anne] is very close to her mother, but is hardly ever there, while Sophie is around a lot.”
When the royals all went to their respective homes to ride out the lockdown in March 2020, Sophie recorded a video message, shot by her daughter, now 18-year-old Louise, about services available those who would inevitably need them during the extended period of isolation.
