Sophie, the Countess of Wessex, has spoken out about Prince Harry and Meghan’s decision to step back as senior royals in a rare interview with the UK’s Sunday Times. When asked about the Sussex’s shock departure from the royal family in January, Sophie, 55, replied: “I just hope they will be happy. We all try to help any new members of the family.”
Sophie noted that she had much more time to adjust to royal life than Meghan did. “Remember I’d had five years to adjust,” the mother-of-two said of her and Edward’s long relationship. “And for our six-month engagement, I was even staying at Buckingham Palace. Not that you necessarily know how it will pan out.”
Sophie also revealed it’s “highly unlikely” her children — Lady Louise Windsor, 16, and James, Viscount Severn, 12, — will use their HRH title as adults.
“We try to bring them up with the understanding they are very likely to have to work for a living,” she explained. “Hence, we made the decision not to use HRH titles. They have them and can decide to use them from 18, but I think it’s highly unlikely.”
The Queen’s daughter-in-law also acknowledged her children’s lives weren’t completely normal, saying: “I guess not everyone’s grandparents live in a castle, but where you are going is not the important part, or who they are. When they are with the Queen, she is their grandmother.”
It comes two months after the Sussexes’ exit from the senior ranks of the British royal family was finalised, with the couple ceasing to be recognised as senior members of the firm from April 1, meaning they will no longer use their HRH titles or be called upon to carry out duties on behalf of Her Majesty the Queen.
The couple has wasted no time getting back to work. Last month, Harry launched his first major project since stepping back as a senior royal. Harry, who served in the British Army for 10 years, has launched an online platform, called HeadFIT for Life — which was three years in the making — that offers an array of tools to help military personnel with their mental health.