At the meeting of the British royal family of the absent Prince Harry and Meghan Markle replaced the prince Edward and his wife Sophie, reports the Daily Express.
On Tuesday, December 8, Harry’s brother Prince William and his wife Kate Middleton returned from a three-day trip on the royal train. They traveled more than two thousand kilometers, stopping in England, Wales and Scotland to meet with nursing home staff, volunteers, teachers and schoolchildren. At the request of Prince William and his wife, their trip on the royal train was captured by the young artist Joe Whale, known in the UK under the pseudonym doodle boy.
The journey ended at Windsor Castle, where they were joined by the Queen and other relatives. In addition to the Queen herself, Princess Anne and Prince Charles with his wife Camilla, William and Kate met the youngest son Elizabeth II Prince Edward and his wife Sophie.
Unlike the Queen’s other children, Edward and Sophie rarely appear in public and prefer to avoid the attention of the press. Participation in the meeting may indicate the strengthening of their positions in the royal family after the departure of Prince Harry in the USA. Experts point out that Sophie has always been the Queen’s favorite daughter-in-law, so Elizabeth II could have chosen her and Edward as replacements for Harry and Meghan.
Meetings with so many members of the royal family have not been held since the beginning of the pandemic. Even at the wedding of the granddaughter of Elizabeth II Princess Beatrice, which took place in July in the chapel near Windsor Castle, was present only a narrow circle of close relatives of the bride and groom, as well as the Queen and her husband Prince Philip.
In 2009, Prince Edward was accused of cruelty to animals. This happened after the publication of photographs taken while hunting at the royal estate in Norfolk. The prince was captured swinging a long stick over the dogs’ heads.