The new Duchess of Edinburgh is 'relieved' she no longer has to curtsy to Meghan Markle, it has been claimed by a friend of the royal.
Sophie, the former Countess of Wessex, has been given her new title of Duchess of Edinburgh following Prince Edward's promotion as Duke of Edinburgh on Friday by elder brother King Charles, reports the Mirror.
As the Countess of Wessex, Sophie was duty-bound to curtsy to the Duchess of Sussex due to Meghan being of higher rank, but now this is not the case.
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It is alleged that relations between the two Duchesses has been strained since Meghan rejected Sophie as a mentor for life as part of the monarchy.
A friend of the Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh told the Daily Mail : "Sophie is relieved. She no longer has to curtsy to someone in the family who has not only left Royal duties but has spent the past three years criticising the institution that Sophie works so hard to support."
Charles upheld the promise made to Edward and Sophie by the late Queen on Friday by finally granting them the titles of Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh.
The announcement from Buckingham Palace came on Edward's 59th birthday with his new title, previously held by his father the late Prince Philip, set to be with him for his lifetime.
Their son 15-year-old James now becomes Earl of Wessex - the title that his father was granted on his wedding day - however, there is no change for Lady Louise Windsor, Edward and Sophie's daughter.
Meghan recalled her first ever meeting with the Queen during the Duke and Duchess of Sussex's explosive Netflix series late last year.
The six-episode docuseries named Harry & Meghan came out in two parts, with the first three instalments coming out on December 8 and the final three a week later.
In the first part, the couple reminisce about the early days of their romance and her encounter with the late monarch.
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Harry reveals that Meghan being introduced to his grandmother was a "shock to the system" and that she was one of the first senior royals she met.
Meghan says: “There wasn’t like some big moment of ‘Now you’re going to meet my grandmother’. I didn’t know I was going to meet her until moments before.
"We were in the car and we were going to Royal Lodge for lunch, and he’s like 'Oh, my grandmother’s here, we’re going to meet her after church.' And I remember we were in the car driving up and he’s like 'You know how to curtsy, right?' And I just thought it was a joke.
Harry adds: "How do you explain that to people? How do you explain that you bow to your grandmother? And that you will need to curtsy. Especially to an American. That’s weird."
Before Meghan says: "Now I’m starting to realise ‘This is a big deal’. I mean, Americans will understand this… We have medieval times, dinner and tournament. It was like that."
She then performed an awkward and exaggerated curtsy and giggles away as she says: "Pleasure to meet you Your Majesty."
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