Kate Middleton and Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh Share a ‘Sisterly Bond’: ‘Sophie Is Like the Older Sister Kate Never Had’

Mar. 15, 2025

It was evident in their joint appearance at Remembrance Sunday thatKate MiddletonandSophie, Duchess of Edinburghshare a bond.

Royal biographer Ingrid Seward toldHello!that the two women “have a sisterly bond, and Sophie is like the older sister Kate never had.”

Catherine, Princess of Wales (L) and Britain’s Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh (R) react as they arrive at St George’s Chapel to attend the Most Noble Order of the Garter Ceremony in Windsor Castle in Windsor, on June 19, 2023.Henry Nicholls - WPA Pool/Getty Images

Henry Nicholls - WPA Pool/Getty Images

Calling the two women “incredibly kind girls,” Seward added, “They are both protective of their children. Sophie has had a young family, so she knows what it’s like trying to protect them while being in the royal world.”

Sophie and Edward, the youngest child of the lateQueen ElizabethandPrince Philip, share daughter Lady Louise, 21, and son James, Earl of Wessex, 16. Kate andPrince Williamare parents toPrince George, 11,Princess Charlotte, 9, andPrince Louis, 6. Of the Duchess of Edinburgh, Seward added, “She has been there in the background [for Kate] as part of a private support network.”

“The royals have always shown a human side, but there is more warmth now,” Seward continued. “That gesture of Sophie putting her arm around Kate is something you wouldn’t have seen a few years ago.”

Catherine Princess of Wales and Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh stand from the balcony during the National Service of Remembrance at The Cenotaph on Nov. 10, 2024 in London, England.Chris Jackson/Getty

Chris Jackson/Getty

Fellow royal biographer Robert Jobson toldHello!“That moment said a lot. The royal family are all looking after Kate, and there is a protective bubble around her.”

Seward said Kate and Sophie “have a huge amount in common, having probably formed a bond very much at the beginning. Sophie was there for Kate in an unofficial capacity because she had the same experience of being a commoner marrying into the royal family. They both had really long romances with their husbands-to-be, and Sophie lived at [Buckingham] Palace. By the time they got married, they had more knowledge than the royal brides before them about what they were getting into.”

Sophie, Countess of Wessex (L) and Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge (R) attend the Most Noble Order of the Garter Ceremony at St George’s Chapel in Windsor Castle, in Windsor, west of London on June 13, 2022.TOBY MELVILLE/POOL/AFP via Getty Images

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“[Sophie] is 17 years older than Kate, and has seen and done it all before,” royal biographer Claudia Joseph previously toldThe Sun. “She [Kate] has found that Sophie is a true confidante and sounding board, and they have developed a mutual respect and an unbreakable bond.”

source: people.com