Sophie, Countess of Wessex, 55, has been extremely busy in the days following Meghan Markle and Prince Harry’s departure from the fold. The Countess’s unwavering dedication to the Queen was clear last week when she marked her birthday helping to greet guests at a Buckingham Palace reception.

Sophie is said to be one of Queen Elizabeth II’s most trusted supporters and has been singled-out to help take on some of the burden left behind by Meghan and Harry, according to a royal source.

Just days after her birthday Sophie jetted off to Sierra Leone for a two-day royal visit to raise awareness around women and girls’ rights.

The trip saw Sophie meet with community leaders and campaigners helping to tackle gender-based violence and discrimination in the country’s capital, Freetown.

Sophie’s high-profile presence on the royal scene following Meghan and Harry’s departure has prompted speculation she is taking over what they left behind.

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A royal source has claimed the ‘very popular’ Countess has been chosen by Buckingham Palace to step into the spotlight in the coming months.

The source told The Sun: “Sophie’s a long-term favourite of the Queen and has been singled out as a person the Palace would like to help ease the burden.”

Sophie is married to the Queen’s youngest son Prince Edward, 54, and is a popular member of the family.

As well as her close relationship to the Queen, the source claimed she is a hit with Prince Charles and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall too.

Prince Edward is the only one of the Queen’s children not to have divorced and the Queen is said to value Sophie’s reliability.

Edward and Sophie stepped into to help Kate, Duchess of Cambridge and Prince William host the UK-Africa Investment summit reception at Buckingham Palace last Monday on the same day Prince Harry returned to Canada to be with Meghan.

Sophie and her family joined the Queen at Sandringham before Christmas and offered moral support while Prince Philip was receiving hospital treatment in London.

The Queen often asks Sophie to sit next to her for the car ride to church, when she is in Sandringham, a key sign she is a favourite.

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A former royal equerry told the Sun: “If Sophie Wessex is staying at Sandringham then you can pretty much guarantee the Queen will ask her – usually last thing on a Saturday night – if she would like ‘a lift’ to the church.

“And the same happens at Balmoral. The Queen likes to be completely calm before church and she finds Sophie’s presence soothing.

“Who gets the backseat is also one of those quirky royal ways that signals who is in favour.”

Royal expert Phil Dampier has tipped Sophie to be ‘a royal superstar’ in the wake of Megxit.

He told MailOnline: “I think she wants to do more and would happily step up to the plate and take over more duties if asked.”

Sophie and Prince Edward are the youngest working royal couple after Kate and Prince William and it seems likely they will fill the gap left by Meghan and Harry.

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge are also expected to take on more royal responsibilities following the Sussexes’ step back.

However, it may be Sophie and Edward appear more regularly beside Wills and Kate at royal engagements in future.

Kate and Prince William will attend a special service in Westminster today to mark 75 years since the Holocaust.

The Duchess took part in a special project to commemorate the anniversary and took photographic portraits of two Holocaust survivors with their grandchildren.

Kate’s moving portraits of survivors Steven Frank, 84, and Yvonne Bernstein, 82, were shared on social media ahead of UK Holocaust Memorial Day.

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