Did you know that the Duchess of Edinburgh has been on several royal trips and tours in recent months? You probably didn’t realize it because her trips have barely gotten any coverage whatsoever, not even in the British media. Usually, only one photographer comes to her foreign events, and that guy seems to be Sophie’s official photographer. And even then, her photos rarely make the Royal Family’s Instagram, nor Getty Images or any publication anywhere. This is all a good thing, according to the Daily Mail’s Kate Mansey. Sophie is exhibiting the kind of no-drama, low-energy, forgettable work of the crown.

While all eyes have been on the state visit to Kenya followed by the celebrations for Charles’s 75th birthday, some other royal appointments have attracted less attention. Sophie and Edward, in particular, are emerging as under-the-radar royals, taking the strain of important visits – many of them long haul – while other front-line royals are engaged elsewhere.

Last week, Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh returned from a five-day visit to Canada, where she is Colonel-in-Chief of the Lincoln and Welland Regiment and Patron of two Toronto hospitals. Last month found the duchess in Ethopia with little fanfare and no huge entourage. Her private secretary Alexander Stonor and her Assistant Private Secretary Annabelle Galletley were the only ones to travel with her. Meanwhile, her husband Prince Edward, the Duke of Edinburgh has his own full itinerary, which has included recent visits to Turkey and Bahrain on official business. They are, in other words, extremely busy – even it it’s other members of the Royal Family who dominate the nation’s Instagram feeds.

There is plenty to do. In fact, With the Duke and Duchess of Sussex departing for a new life in America and the Duke of York out of the picture, Charles III’s slimmed-down Royal family is starting to look thinly spread. Thank goodness, then, for Edward and Sophie, who share much of the royal burden, often the less glamorous bits. At 59 and 58, respectively, they still have time on their side. Their children are more independent now they’re older, meanwhile. Lady Louise celebrated her 20th birthday earlier this month; son James, now the Earl of Wessex, is 15.

Could there be a future role for Lady Louise once she has finished her University degree? Given her poise and maturity – like mother, like daughter – we might hope so.

For it has only been eight months since Sophie became the Duchess of Edinburgh yet already she has done so much. It is clear that she is fast becoming one of the most important – and hardest working – members of the Royal family. She doesn’t always attract huge publicity for her work and she certainly does seek it, but it’s of huge value, all the same.

[From The Daily Mail]

It feels like Sophie’s post-QEII rebrand is to be the new Princess Anne. Anne just does her work quietly with little fanfare and Anne still, to this day, is the hardest working member of the family. The thing is, Anne has basically always been like this – she’s spent decades doing her work (meaningful work) and she’s earned the respect she gets across the board. Sophie is just… I don’t know, maybe it’s like I said, she’s trying a rebrand now that she can’t tell everyone that she was QEII’s favorite. Anyway, at some point, the family will have to reckon with the conundrum they created themselves: no one can outshine the monarch, even if the monarch is dreadfully unpopular and unlikeable. Charisma, sparkle, attention, good press, all of that must be punished. So this is what we’re left with – a bunch of elderly people having a mid-off.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red.