Prince Edward‘s wife Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh (formerly the Countess of Wessex) was often referred to as the late Queen Elizabeth II‘s favorite daughter-in-law and one of her most loyal in-laws. Sophie flew under the radar for a long time until she and her husband jumped in to help the family by picking up more engagements after Prince Harry and Meghan Markle stepped down as working royals. At the end of 2022, Sophie and Edward were the guests of honor at the annual Royal Variety Performance. But when the couple met with the entertainers backstage, one performer said he had an “awkward” encounter with the now-duchess because of her blunt comments about how he did.
Here’s more on that and what Sophie did following her harsh critique.
What Skinner said Sophie told him after his performance
At the event, which was held on Dec. 1, 2022, British comedian Frank Skinner sang England’s football anthem alongside fellow entertainer David Baddiel and explained that after the show he met Edward and Sophie backstage. Skinner discussed what happened on his Absolute Radio podcast The Frank Skinner Show.
He said he wasn’t feeling well that evening revealing: “I was struggling. We were singing Three Lions. So I croaked my way through the dress rehearsal. And then, on the night, we did the show. I made Dave sound like Mario Lanza on the night. It actually hurt to sing it. Four minutes of hurt never stopped me singing. I was in physical pain.”
After powering through the song that night Skinner recalled Sophie say to him: “Well, don’t give up your day job.”
“I said, ‘Pardon?’ … ‘Was it that bad?’ And she said, ‘Well, you know, I could tell, you know, it’s not what you do,’” the comedian recounted. “I said, ‘Erm, well, normally we’re like comics.’ She said, ‘Yeah, but you’re on screen aren’t you, you’re not used to a live crowd.’ I said, ‘Well we’ve done a bit of live stuff you know, stand-up and stuff.’ But she’s sticking with it and she said, ‘Yeah, but you haven’t done anywhere the size of this.’”
Skinner then added: “She looked at me like, ‘You’re not supposed to be arguing, I don’t think you’re supposed to be arguing with me, you’re supposed to just nod.’ It was like a really awkward thing.”
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Sophie sent him a ‘classy’ apology
After Skinner publicly spoke about meeting Sophie he was sent an “unexpected”and “classy” message of apology. Skinner said he got a letter from the royal and was deeply touched by her words.
He told The Times: “Oh I love her now.”
Edward and Sophie get new titles
On March 10, it was announced that King Charles made his brother the new Duke of Edinburgh. That last person to hold that dukedom was their father, the late Prince Philip. WIth Edward’s new title, Sophie now becomes the Duchess of Edinburgh.
A Buckingham Palace spokesperson said: “His Majesty the king has been pleased to confer the Dukedom of Edinburgh upon The Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex and Forfar, on the occasion of His Royal Highness’s 59th birthday. The title will be held by Prince Edward for His Royal Highness’s lifetime.
“The Dukedom was last created for Prince Philip in 1947, upon his marriage to Princess Elizabeth, who held the title of Duchess of Edinburgh before acceding to the throne in 1952. The new Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh are proud to continue Prince Philip’s legacy of promoting opportunities for young people of all backgrounds to reach their full potential.”
The Earl of Wessex title now passes to Edward and Sophie’s son James, the former Viscount Severn.
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