
<a href="https://www.usmagazine.com/celebrity-news/news/why-princess-sophie-skipped-princess-dianas-1997-funeral/" target="_blank">View original image source</a>.
When Princess Diana’s funeral rolled around in 1997, you might not have noticed one notable absence: Princess Sophie. According to a new book by Sean Smith, Sophie chose to skip the event to avoid upsetting the crowd with her striking resemblance to the late princess. It turns out this was a compassionate decision backed by the royal family, and wow, does it add a layer to royal drama that we didn’t know we needed.
The book also dives into the complicated relationship between Sophie and Diana. It seems their encounters were filled with tension, featuring awkward teaparties at Windsor Castle that felt more like emotional dodgeball than a royal gathering. Can you imagine a junior royal silently competing for airtime against someone as charismatic as Diana? And to think, it would’ve made for quite the reality TV episode — “Keeping Up with the Royals: The Tea Time Chronicles.”
With all of this family tension, it’s fascinating to think how different royal events could be perceived if we knew the full story behind them. The tension may not have made Sophie more popular, but at least she sidestepped potential media scrutiny—who doesn’t love an escape plan? What do you think? Should royal family members put their differences aside in times of tragedy, or is stepping back sometimes the best move?
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