Sophie Wessex celebrates anniversary of Foundation of Light

Sophie, Countess of Wessex, 56, is married to the Queen’s youngest son Prince Edward, 56, and has been a working member of the monarchy since 2002. The Countess provides vital support to the Crown and is said to be the Royal Family’s “secret weapon” for her quiet dedication to royal duty. The Queen is said to have a soft spot for Sophie because Edward is the only one of her and Philip’s children not to have divorced.

As a senior royal Sophie holds a number of important patronages and focusses a large part of her royal work in helping to tackle gender-based sexual violence in conflict zones.

The Countess has represented the Queen abroad on several important royal visits and last year became the first-ever Royal Family member to step foot in South Sudan.

Sophie celebrated her birthday last month and rather than taking a day off she carried out several key royal engagements on her special day.

These virtual meetings were plugged by the Royal Family’s Twitter account – a sure sign that the Queen approves of Sophie’s work and wishes to promote it.

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Sophie and Prince Edward have helped plug the gap in the monarchy left by Meghan Markle, 39, and Prince Harry’s, 36, departure last March.

They were among senior royals to join the Queen at Windsor Castle ahead of Christmas for a special engagement to thank local volunteers.

However, despite Sophie’s raised profile, the royal remains less recognised than some of her female counterparts.

A rolling YouGov poll found the Countess is currently the 10th most popular Royal Family member putting her behind Princess Anne, 70, and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, 73.

Sophie did, however, come one place ahead of royal exile Meghan Markle who came in at 11th place.

10 most popular Royal Family members

According to the YouGov poll, these are the most popular British Royal Family members ranked by what percentage of the people surveyed voted for them as their favourite.

1.) Prince William (75 per cent)

2.) Queen Elizabeth II (73 per cent)

3.) Kate, Duchess of Cambridge (67 per cent)

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4.) Princess Anne (50 per cent)

5.) Prince Philip (49 per cent)

6.) Zara Tindall (47 per cent)

7.) Prince Carles (47 per cent)

8.) Prince Harry (41 per cent)

9.) Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall (37 per cent)

10.) Sophie, Countess of Wessex (31 per cent)

Sophie and Prince Edward have been spending lockdown at Bagshot Park in Surrey with their two children – Lady Louise Windsor, 17, and James, Viscount Severn, 13.

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