Duchess Sophie Skipped Diana’s Funeral for an ‘Upsetting’ Reason — But It Was Quite Selfless
Duchess Sophie first met Prince Edward in 1987 and began dating him in 1993 after crossing paths at a charity event. Although she wasn’t formally part of the royal family until their marriage in 1999, she moved within their social circle, given her relationship with Edward. Despite her close bond with the royals, Sophie was a no-show at Princess Diana’s funeral in 1997. Royal author Sean Smith recently claimed she chose to skip the memorial to avoid her strong resemblance to Diana being seen as disrespectful to the late Princess’s legacy.
Diana and Sophie both had blue eyes and strikingly similar blonde hairstyles during the 1990s. As reported by the Daily Mail, Smith wrote in his new book, Sophie: Saving the Royal Family, "She had an obvious and reasonable excuse: a friend at the Palace explained, 'Sophie decided it would be too upsetting for the crowd if she went. She's well aware that she looks like Princess Diana from a distance and made her decision in a caring and thoughtful way. The royal family fully supported.'" While Sophie and Diana both wore the same cropped blonde haircut at the time, the Duchess has since grown out her hair, a style she continues to wear today.
Sophie has not denied her striking resemblance to the People's Princess when asked about it during her courtship with Edward. As per the Daily Express, she once said in a 1999 interview, "I don’t deny that we do look alike. But I couldn't ever compete with Diana’s image. I’m not Diana." While Sophie seemed to have a liking for the late Princess, Diana allegedly did not feel the same way. Royal correspondent Judy Wade claimed that when Diana saw Sophie, she would mutter, "Oh look, here comes my double." The expert alleged, "She [Sophie] chose red dresses that were almost identical to things that Diana wore. She seemed to be copying Diana, and Diana was sort of partly amused and partly irritated by it."
Wade's claims of a rift between Sophie and Diana were also echoed by royal author Andrew Morton, who was close to the late Princess. He revealed in his book, Diana: In pursuit of Love, that she made her disdain clear to Sophie by once 'staring intensely at her,' causing her to flee in tears from a family dinner. The late Princess was said to be vocal about her dislike for the Duchess, often commenting on the 'easy ride' she received when entering the royal family, as opposed to her painful experiences, which she likened to being 'thrown to the wolves.'
Coming back to Diana's funeral, according to Metro, the late Princess was laid to rest in a customary lead coffin, weighing 'quarter of a tonne.' The age-old practice followed in royal funerals was meant to prevent moisture and preserve the body longer. She is buried at Althorp Estate, her family's ancestral home in Northamptonshire, England. Her final resting place is on a small island in the middle of the Round Oval Lake on the estate grounds.