Sophie, Countess of Wessex kept her family “strong” during Queen Elizabeth’s funeral, according to one eye witness.
The 57-year-old royal attended the state funeral at Westminster Abbey on Monday (19.09.22), and lawyer Pranav Bhanot thinks she offered comfort to some of her family members during the service.
Pranav told PEOPLE: “The Countess of Wessex was incredible. I saw her putting her arm around three or four people.
“It felt like she was really the glue keeping everyone quite strong today.”
Sophie – who married Prince Edward in 1999 – proved to be a rock for her family during the service in Westminster.
Pranav shared: “She really seemed to be the person keeping the family together. There were a few bishops who started crying when they saw the queen and she was kind of comforting them, even though she is the direct family member.”
Sophie was also spotted putting her arm around Catherine, Princess of Wales during the service.
Pranav said: “She put her arm around Kate’s shoulders towards the end too. It was comforting.
“From where I was I got the sense that … sometimes you have that one strong person in a family who’s kind of keeping everyone together. To me, it seemed like Sophie was that person today.
“It was something that really stood out because it seemed that she really was very strong.”
Meanwhile, royal expert Jonathan Sacerdoti has heaped praise on Catherine, observing that she’s “immensely popular with the public”.
He also praised Catherine for how she’s adjusted to royal life.
Jonathan said: “She’s always carried out her role with the family actually very well. She’s somebody that is immensely popular with the public. They absolutely love her.”