Sophie, the Countess of Wessex, is reportedly Queen Elizabeth's top choice to take over Meghan Markle's royal duties after the Duchess of Sussex and her husband Prince Harry decided to step back as senior royals in early January.
Daily Express revealed that the countess is currently in Sierra Leone for a two-day royal engagement on behalf of Queen Elizabeth. According to the reports, much of Sophie's work for this short visit will focus on the same issues that Meghan worked to raise awareness in the past.
On her first day in the African country, Sophie talked with key people on issues like gender-based and sexual violence, which were also advocacies of the Duchess of Sussex. Sophie is also set to meet with sexual violence survivors and the women who championed peace-building in the community.
According to royal expert Phil Dampier, the wife of Prince Edward has been more than happy to take on the trip to Sierra Leone. Dampier further said that Sophie is the Queen's personal favorite and it appears she's fine with doing more for the Crown.
Before heading to Sierra Leonne, the Earl and Countess of Wessex were at the UK-Africa summit. They hosted the summit at Buckingham Palace alongside Prince William and Kate Middleton, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge. Royal experts said that Prince Harry and Meghan were supposed to host the event together if the Sussex royals did not decide to leave for Canada this week.
Royal observers said that since Prince Harry and Meghan are no longer active members of the royal family, the countess and her Prince Edward could expect to take on more significant duties. It also seems convenient since Sophie and Prince Edward's children are now a bit older.
Prince Edward and Sophie's children, Lady Louise and James, Viscount Severn, are now in their teens. They are just slowly realizing the importance of their grandmother, the Queen, to the world.
In a rare interview on television, Sophie said that Louise used to have a hard time grasping the concept of who her grandmother was. It was the other children in her school who told her that her grandmama was the Queen, but she still could not get what this meant to other people's lives.
Prince Edward and Sophie have always tried to keep their children away from the media spotlight. Lady Louis and James kind of grew up in a normal way despite their position in life.
