The late Queen Elizabeth gave Duchess Sophie a look she ‘shan't forget'

There was a time when the Duchess of Edinburgh was still finding her feet within the royal family.

Her one small mistake at Buckingham Palace earned her a look from the late Queen Elizabeth II that she never forgot.

Over the years, Sophie and the late Queen developed an exceptionally close relationship, with their bond often compared to that of a mother and daughter. 

Sophie eventually began affectionately calling the monarch “mama”, a sign of just how much their relationship had evolved.

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The Duchess married Prince Edward in June 1999, recalled one particularly awkward moment during the 2013 ITV documentary Our Queen, when she found herself struggling to locate her seat at a state banquet.

Moment Sophie caught the Queen's eye

Describing the experience of entering a ballroom at Buckingham Palace, Sophie admitted that the grand surroundings could be intimidating when she was accompanying guests who had never attended a royal event before.

“The moment you go into a ballroom at Buckingham Palace it's terrifying,” she explained. 

“You see a wall of people and you then think, ‘Oh help, I've got to find my chair’.”

The Duchess then revealed that she had made the mistake more than once.

“On more than one occasion I've managed to sit in the wrong seat,” she said, laughing.

One particular incident, however, remains firmly etched in her memory.

Sophie recalled that she was still trying to work out where she was supposed to sit while the Queen was preparing to give a speech. 

The monarch noticed her daughter-in-law was not yet in place – and Sophie clearly remembered the reaction she received.

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“But I shan't forget the look that I got when I couldn't find my chair and [the Queen] was looking to do her speech,” Sophie said.

“I decided I might study my notes a little more carefully next time,” she joked.

In the years that followed, Sophie became one of the Queen's trusted family members and was frequently seen by her side at important occasions.