Prince Edward’s wife, Sophie, had clearly been one of the favourite daughters-in-law of the late Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip.
Duchess Sophie delighted the public with never-before-shared story from the royal household which highlighted the close bond exists behind the public engagements and duties
As per age-old tradition of the royals cemented by the late Queen, the family gathers at Balmoral Castle for their break and takes the opportunity to regroup and reconnect. However, it also meant that sometimes the royal members could possibly miss out on key moments in history.
Sophie narrated one such anecdote as she relived “one of the most unforgettable moments in Team GB history” watching the Rio 2016 Women’s Hockey final.
The now-Duchess of Edinburgh shared that she was at Balmoral at the time and she had been watching all of the matches “all the way through”. She also had been in touch with one of the directors to send messages to the girls, boosting their morale.
However, on final match day, Sophie was at family dinner and had to resort to one of the servers, who was an avid hockey fan, to whisper the score to her.
“And we’re sitting at the end of dinner, and I was thinking, I was twitching. And eventually, Her Majesty sat there and said, ‘Oh for goodness’s sake, just go!’”
Sophie recalled running through to the library and was soon joined by her father-in-law Prince Philip. The Queen was popping in and out because she couldn’t handle the pressure”.
She concluded the story sharing how surreal the final goal had felt.
The whole story reflected the genuine relationship Sophie shared with the late royal couple.
2026-08-19 11:01:00
