Over the years, the likes of the Princess of Wales, Princess Anne and the Duchess of Edinburgh have all be dubbed the royals’ ‘secret weapon’ – but one expert believes the King has a brand new one
15:32, 28 Feb 2026Updated 15:32, 28 Feb 2026
The Royal Family on the Buckingham Palace balcony(Image: Getty)
The Royal Family has seen several of its members being dubbed ‘secret weapons’ due to their quiet dedication to duty, and there may be a new one joining the ranks.
Both the King’s sister Princess Anne and sister-in-law Sophie, the Duchess of Edinburgh, have both being given the complimentary label in recent times. However, according to one royal expert, the King has a new ‘secret weapon’ within the family thanks to their steady approach to royal duty – and that’s his younger brother Prince Edward, the Duke of Edinburgh.
In recent weeks while the Royal Family has faced turmoil in the wake of Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor’s arrest on suspicion of misconduct in a public office, Edward has quietly been getting on with royal duties.
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Prince Edward was praised by an expert(Image: Getty)
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In recent weeks, he’s travelled to Italy to attend the 2026 Winter Olympics and supported the National Youth Theatre at a special engagement. And royal biographer Robert Jobson told The Express: “In Edward, the King has found a trusted, steady hand-dependable and discreet-supported by his equally grounded wife, Sophie. Together, they present a wholesome, scandal-free image that has quietly bolstered the monarchy’s relatability in modern times.”
Edward’s wife Sophie has also won plaudits for carving out an at times gritty role travelling to the likes of Iraq, Chad and even Ukraine – mainly to champion women and the role she believes they can play in delivering peace across the world.
Edward with wife Sophie, the Duchess of Edinburgh(Image: Getty Images)
In recent years, courtiers and charity bosses have hailed Sophie as a dependable figure in the slimmed-down working monarchy -earning her the often-used description of ‘secret weapon’.
And in a previous rare interview with the Mirror, Sophie finally opened up about how she feels about the nickname – and gave an unexpected answer. Revealing her thoughts about the label, she explained: “I like to fly under the radar. It’s all very well being a secret weapon, but if no one knows, maybe it’s too secret.”
However, after a pause, she added: “I suppose I should take it as a backhanded compliment. I don’t see myself in a frontline position per se, that said admittedly, there are fewer working members of the family these days so I suppose more and more I’m becoming less secretive. I just wonder what they are going to describe me as next!”
But when asked what she would like her own description to be, she quickly replied: “I don’t know, I am going to leave that for others, it would be very presumptuous for me to suggest something that could go badly wrong.”
With her role travelling the world and facing hard-hitting subjects head-on, such as conflict-related sexual violence, Sophie admitted sometimes it can “take its toll on emotions, that’s for sure”.
But even though the subject matters, such as rape, may not be easy to hear about and the scale of the problems may be too much for just one person, such as her, to solve alone, the Duchess say it just strengthens her resolve to do as much as she can, especially when it comes to issues facing women.
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