Duchess Sophie skipped Princess Diana's funeral due to their striking resemblance

A new biography has shed light on a poignant detail from one of the most somber moments in royal history: the funeral of Princess Diana.

According to Sophie: Saving the Royal Family by author Sean Smith, Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh, then Sophie Rhys-Jones, was noticeably absent from the service at Westminster Abbey on September 6, 1997. 

The reason, Smith writes, was deeply personal and surprisingly selfless: she feared that her resemblance to Diana might upset the grieving crowds.

“She had an obvious and reasonable excuse,” a palace insider told Smith, as reported by the Daily Mail. 

“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 her.”

At the time, Sophie, a public relations executive and Prince Edward’s girlfriend, bore a striking resemblance to the late Princess of Wales. 

Both women shared soft features, blue eyes, and cropped blonde hairstyles, which only added to the comparison.

“I don’t deny that we do look alike,” Sophie once said in the 1990s. “But I couldn’t ever compete with Diana’s image. I’m not Diana,” she told the Daily Mail, as later cited by the Daily Express.

Sophie officially joined the royal family two years later when she married Prince Edward in June 1999 at St. George’s Chapel, Windsor. 

Since then, she has become one of the monarchy’s most dedicated working royals, known for her advocacy around disability rights, women’s empowerment, and support for survivors of sexual violence.

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