Why Queen Elizabeth Chose This Royal As Meghan Markle’s ‘Unofficial Mentor’

Queen Elizabeth tapped one member of the royal family to serve as Meghan Markle’s unofficial mentor. The attempt was Her Majesty’s way of helping the Duchess of Sussex bed into her new royal life.

In an article for Grazia, royal expert Katie Nicholl said that Her Majesty earmarked Sophie, Countess of Wessex, as a mentor for Prince Harry’s wife. The decision came after Sophie and Meghan bonded at the Royal Ascot last year, and they obviously got along well with each other.

“The pair share similar backgrounds, as Sophie, like Meghan, gave up a successful career in PR to marry into the royal family, so she is in a position to help Meghan,” Nicholl said. Additionally, Sophie and her husband, Prince Edward, also chose not to give their two children royal titles so that they could grow up away from the spotlight.

Meghan and Prince Harry also surprised the public with the same decision after they welcomed their son, Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor, on May 6. At that time, the royal couple announced their son’s complete name sans a royal title.

The Queen must have felt that Meghan will be in good hands under Sophie’s mentorship. The monarch and Sophie also share a special bond together. According to a royal expert, Sophie is the Queen’s favorite granddaughter-in-law, and the 93-year-old is closer to her than Meghan and Kate Middleton.

“She is trusted and relied on by the Queen in a way I couldn’t say applied to the Duchess of Cambridge or the Duchess of Cornwall,” a royal source told Daily Mail. “She is like another daughter to Her Majesty, they are that close. She talks to Sophie in the way she used to talk to Princess Margaret. Sophie has filled a terrible gap in the Queen’s life that was left when her sister and the Queen Mother died in 2002,” the source added.

Several years ago, the Queen also gave Sophie a different treatment compared to Princess Diana and Sarah Ferguson. Sophie was allowed to live with Prince Edward even before they tied the knot. Princess Diana and Fergie had to wait until after their marriage before they were allowed to do so.