Duchess of Edinburgh missed royal’s funeral fearing her attendance ‘would be too upsetting for the crowd’

At the time, both women had similar cropped blonde hairstyles

The Duchess of Edinburgh chose not to attend a royal’s funeral because their resemblance was “too upsetting”, a new book has claimed.

Sophie, the Duchess of Edinburgh was noticeably absent from Princess Diana’s funeral in 1997, despite being Prince Edward’s girlfriend at the time.

Royal author Sean Smith has published “In Sophie: Saving the Royal Family”, which claimed the Duchess chose not to attend the funeral on September 6, 1997, because of the strong physical resemblance she shared with the late Princess of Wales.

“She had an obvious and reasonable excuse: a friend at the palace explained, ‘Sophie decided it would be too upsetting for the crowd if she went,’” Smith wrote in the biography.
Duchess of Edinburgh skipped royal’s funeral fearing ‘it would be too upsetting for the crowd’

“’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.’”

At the time, both women had similar cropped blonde hairstyles, though Sophie, now 60, has longer hair in 2025.

With similar features, including blue eyes and fair hair, the resemblance between the two was often noted, and Sophie herself once acknowledged it.

“I don’t deny that we do look alike. But I couldn’t ever compete with Diana’s image. I’m not Diana,” Sophie told the Daily Mail in the 1990s.

Prince Edward pictured at Princess Diana’s funeral without Sophie

In 1997, Sophie was still known by her maiden name, Sophie Rhys-Jones, and was working in public relations while dating Queen Elizabeth II’s youngest son, Prince Edward.

Princess Diana died at the age of 36 on August 31, 1997, after a car crash in Paris.

Her funeral service at Westminster Abbey was attended by more than 2,000 people, with around a million mourners lining the streets of London and an estimated two billion people watching around the world.

Two years later, in January 1999, Prince Edward and Sophie announced their engagement.

Prince Edward walked alongside Princess Anne’s family at the funeral

Prince William and Prince Harry greeting Sophie after the 10th Anniversary Memorial Service for Diana, Princess of Wales

They married on June 19, 1999, at St. George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle.

Since 2002, Sophie has taken on full-time royal duties, supporting causes such as disability inclusion, the fight to end avoidable blindness, and advocacy for survivors of sexual violence.

She and Edward share two children, Lady Louise Windsor, 21, and James, Earl of Wessex, 17.