The new Duchess of Edinburgh Sophie Wessex, is said to be "relieved" that her change in title means that she'll no longer be expected to curtsey to Meghan Markle.
King Charles bestowed the title of Duke of Edinburgh on his brother Prince Edward in honour of the late Queen's wishes.
The title had previously belonged to the late Prince Philip, for whom the dukedom was created in 1947 upon his marriage to the then-to Princess Elizabeth, who held the title of Duchess of Edinburgh before acceding to the throne in 1952.
With her husband's title changing from Earl of Wessex to Duke of Edinburgh, Sophie, 58, has also had a change in title from Countess of Wessex to Duchess of Edinburgh.
A friend of the Wessexes told the MailOnline that Sophie is "relieved" that the change in rank means that she will no longer be duty-bound to curtsy to Meghan Markle.
The insider told the outlet: "Sophie is relieved. She no longer has to curtsey 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."
The relationship between the two women is believed to have soured after Meghan “made it clear” she didn’t need any help from Sophie to adjust to royal life.
And following Meghan and Prince Harry's interview with Oprah Winfrey, The Telegraph's royal editor Camilla Tominey asked Sophie and Edward about some of the claims made by the Sussexes.
To which Prince Edward joked: “Oprah who?” While Sophie added: “Yes, what interview?”
Later, the Wessexes were asked about the Archbishop of Canterbury not knowing who Oprah was, leading Sophie to explain: “You know, if you’re not into chat shows, there’s no reason why you should know who she is. Certainly not in this country, anyway.”
Meghan and Prince Harry previously discussed how Meghan was caught off-guard by the tradition of curtseying within the royal family.
In their controversial Netflix series, the couple recalled the first time Meghan met the late Queen. She said: "We were in the car going to Royal Lodge for lunch, and he was like, 'Oh my grandmother is there, she's gonna be there after church.' We were in the car, driving and he's like, 'You know how to curtsy, right?' I just thought it was a joke."
Harry continued: "How do you explain that to people? How do you explain that you bow to your grandmother? And that you would need to curtsy, especially to an American. That's weird."
OK! has contacted Buckingham Palace for comment.
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