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

It was evident in their joint appearance at Remembrance Sunday that Kate Middleton and Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh share a bond.

On Nov. 10, in what marked day two of the Princess of Wales' first back-to-back days of royal appearances throughout all of 2024, Sophie put a nurturing, protective hand on Kate's back as the two women left the balcony and walked into the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office after observing the service at The Cenotaph war memorial below. It was an unspoken show of support and reassurance towards Kate, 42, by Sophie, 59, who has been married to Prince Edward for 25 years.

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

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 late Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip , share daughter Lady Louise, 21, and son James, Earl of Wessex, 16. Kate and Prince William are parents to Prince George , 11, Princess Charlotte , 9, and Prince 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."

Fellow royal biographer Robert Jobson told Hello! "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."

The two also live nearby one another, the Princess of Wales at Adelaide Cottage on the Windsor Estate and the Duchess of Edinburgh at Bagshot Park, also in Windsor.

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