Sophie Wessex ‘relieved’ she no longer has to curtsy to Meghan: report

The new Duchess of Edinburgh is “relieved” about no longer having to curtsy to Meghan Markle, according to reports.

Sophie Rhys-Jones, formerly the Countess of Wessex, was officially given a new formal title on Friday after her husband Prince Edward was made the Duke of Edinburgh.

As a result, Sophie is now the Duchess of Edinburgh, which puts her at a higher rank than the Duchess of Sussex — a title Markle currently holds.

“Sophie is relieved,” a royal source told the Mail on Sunday.

“She no longer has to curtsy to someone in the family who has not only left Royal duties but has spent the past three years criticizing the institution that Sophie works so hard to support.”

The Post has reached out to Buckingham Palace for comment.

While the Duchess of Edinburgh has not seen Markle in person since the title promotion, a run-in could be on the cards if the Sussexes decide to attend the King’s coronation in May.

The pair — who recently received their invitations to the May ceremony — are still mulling over whether or not they will make the 5,459-mile-long trip.

Reps for the Sussexes have said “an immediate decision” on whether they will make the trip “will not be disclosed.”

If they do go, the exiled royals will be met with a “cold shoulder” by senior members of the royal family, a royal source told the Daily Mail.

“They will be given the cold shoulder by very many relatives. One said to me, ‘I hope they’ll be seated in Iceland,’” the insider told the outlet.

“Much of the family just wants nothing more to do with them. If they have to see them at the coronation then so be it, but they do not want to socialize with them.”

Prince Edward’s title promotion came as a surprise to the royal, whose older brother Charles gifted him the title on his 59th birthday as a reward for his loyal service to the crown.

The title, last held by their father Prince Philip, is effective immediately as Edward’s profile on the royal family’s website reflected the announcement.

Edward had held the title of Earl of Wessex since 1999.

During his wedding ceremony in 1999, Edward was promised the dukedom when Prince Philip died, according to BBC.

Prince Philip was named the Duke of Edinburgh when he married Queen Elizabeth II in 1947 until his death in 2021.