Prince William's ‘deep connection' with Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh, revealed after joint engagement
Prince William has reportedly forged a "deep connection" with his aunt Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh, following multiple health crises in the royal family and attacks from the Sussexes.
The Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Edinburgh, who are among the United Kingdom's most popular royals, made a rare joint appearance in Cornwall on Friday.
It is understood that the Wales and Edinburgh families are close, with Sophie and Edward 'stepping up' to help William during Catherine's cancer treatment.
According to body language expert Darren Stanton, William and Sophie's joint appearance conveyed natural chemistry and a close bond.
'In terms of William and Sophie's dynamic, they get on really well and it's clear that it's not for the cameras,' Mr Stanton told SkyNews.com.au on Tuesday on behalf of Betfair Casino.
'With William and Sophie, their whole demeanours are completely consistent with two people who are genuinely enjoying each other's company and having a good laugh.'
In some respects, Sophie represents a bridge between older members of the family, like King Charles III, and the upcoming generation of royals headed by William.
At 60, Sophie is almost equally half way in age between her nephew William, 42, and her brother-in-law Charles, 76.
Sophie, like Princess Catherine, also came from a regular middle class background before marrying Queen Elizabeth II's youngest son at age 34 in 1999.
'Overall, it's clear that the pair have a deep connection and strong rapport,' Mr Stanton said.
'It's quite rare that William and Sophie take on engagements together, but this one really shows the depth of their friendship - they genuinely seem to get on well.
'There's matching and mirroring between them, shared humour, and no signs of awkwardness.'
The expert believes the Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Edinburgh are a 'true' representation of the current slimmed-down monarchy.
'I think this is a really good and true representation of the current monarchy, as they're not afraid to show their true selves in public and have their guards down to an extent, taking it all in and enjoying the day,' he said.
'William and Sophie both seem genuinely happy and appear to be a strong duo together.'
Although Sophie has been a full-time working royal for over two decades, the Duchess has taken on a noticeably larger workload in recent years after the Duke and Duchess of Sussex 'stepped back' from being working royals.
The number of working royals has fallen further after Prince Andrew's military titles and royal patronages were stripped of him in disgrace, and Queen Elizabeth II's death in 2022.
The Wales and Edinburgh clans have also both weathered unsubstantiated attacks by the Sussexes' unofficial hagiographer Omid Scobie in his book Endgame.
In Endgame, Scobie alleged that Catherine was the 'racist royal' who inquired about Prince Archie's skin colour and labelled William 'power hungry'.
In another passage, Scobie slammed the Duchess of Edinburgh as 'tin-eared' or 'casually bigoted' about race after Sophie said she never saw the Sussexes' interview with Oprah Winfrey.
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