Duchess Sophie Became Tearful Talking About Her Children Attending a Vigil for Queen Elizabeth II

Duchess Sophie celebrated her 60th birthday on Monday, Jan. 20. In honor of the special occasion, the Duchess of Edinburgh spoke to The Telegraph about a plethora of subjects, including her two children—Lady Louise Windsor and James, Viscount Severn.

During the interview, Sophie recalled Queen Elizabeth II's death, and the vigil that followed at Westminster Hall. On September 17, 2022, the late Queen's grandchildren stood vigil at her coffin, an event which clearly impacted Duchess Sophie immensely.

The Duchess of Edinburgh called her children standing vigil at the Queen's coffin "incredibly moving," noting that she was "just so proud of them."

"I suppose there was a part of me initially that thought, 'Would it be appropriate for James, perhaps, to do it?' because he was younger than the others, but he was really keen to do it," Sophie explained. "And I think it was really important for him to do it, and obviously for Louise as well."

Ultimately, the Duchess of Edinburgh felt that all of the late Queen's grandchildren "did it so well." "I was slightly holding my breath, wanting them to feel that they'd done it well more than anything else," she told the outlet. "I wasn't worried about anything happening; it was more that I wanted them to feel that they'd done their bit for their grandmother."

According to The Telegraph, Duchess Sophie's emotions became obvious, as they noted, "She pauses, putting her hand on her heart and seeming to blink to stop tears falling." "I don't think I can talk about it any more," she told the interviewer.

During the same interview, Duchess Sophie reflected on how she found her feet after joining the Royal Family. "It goes back to when I first started to get involved with taking on patronages and engagements," she explained to the newspaper. "I was trying to find, not a unique thing for myself, but a direction of travel I suppose."

The Duchess of Edinburgh continued, "And, of course, inevitably every time I went down a route, I found a member of the family working very hard doing something and I retreated a bit and thought, 'No not there, treading on toes.' And I suddenly thought, 'What have I been doing up until this point and could shape what potentially could be the next move?'"