Duchess Sophie Reveals Royal Mistake That Earned Her a Disapproving Look From Queen
Duchess Sophie reveals unforgettable disapproving look from Queen after making a royal faux pas she admitted had happened on more than one occasion accidentally sitting in the wrong place at a Buckingham Palace banquet.
The Duchess of Edinburgh, who married the late Queen’s youngest son Prince Edward in 1999, developed an exceptionally close relationship with her mother in law during Queen Elizabeth’s long reign.
However, that close family bond did not mean Sophie escaped the pressure surrounding major royal occasions, particularly the elaborate state banquets hosted inside Buckingham Palace.
Speaking in the 2013 ITV documentary Our Queen, Sophie admitted that entering the Palace ballroom for such an important event could still leave her feeling intimidated despite years of experience as a working royal.
“The moment you go into a ballroom at Buckingham Palace it’s terrifying,” Sophie admitted while describing the challenge of navigating the carefully organised seating arrangements.
“You see a wall of people and you then think, ‘Oh help, I’ve got to find my chair,’” she continued, revealing that even senior royals can become confused amid the formality.
The situation was made more difficult because Sophie would often enter alongside a guest who had never attended such an occasion before, leaving her responsible for navigating the room while also helping someone unfamiliar with royal protocol.
“I have to say on more than one occasion I’ve managed to sit in the wrong seat,” Sophie confessed, showing the humorous side of an otherwise highly formal royal responsibility.
One particular mistake, however, proved especially memorable because Queen Elizabeth was waiting to deliver her speech while Sophie struggled to locate the correct chair.
“I shan’t forget the look that I got when I couldn’t find my chair and [the late Queen] was looking to do her speech,” Sophie recalled.
The Queen apparently did not need to say anything to make her feelings clear. Sophie understood the message immediately and joked that the experience taught her to prepare more carefully before the next banquet.
“I decided I might study my notes a little more carefully next time,” the Duchess said, turning the potentially awkward royal moment into a lighthearted story.
Despite the stern look, the incident did nothing to undermine Sophie’s famously warm relationship with Queen Elizabeth. Royal author and Majesty magazine editor-in-chief Ingrid Seward has previously described their bond as particularly close.
“With the exception of her daughter Anne, the Queen was closer to Sophie than any of the other royal women,” Seward told OK!, calling their relationship a “genuine closeness.” Sophie’s banquet confession therefore offers a revealing glimpse behind Palace formality even one of Queen Elizabeth’s closest family members could occasionally find herself scrambling for the right chair under the monarch’s watchful eye.
