Prince Edward and Sophie's public support is "only getting higher", despite a "lack of fanfare", a royal commentator exclusively told GB News.
The Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh are senior working royals, but fail to often generate the same amount of headlines as the Prince and Princess of Wales and the Duke and Duchess of Sussex.
On Wednesday, the Royal Family announced that Kate was admitted to hospital for planned abdominal surgery, and King Charles will soon seek treatment for an enlarged prostate.
As a result, Queen Camilla and Prince William will likely be supporting their spouses throughout and after their operations.
Prince Edward and Sophie's public support is 'only getting higher' despite 'lack of fanfare'
Getty
In 2023, they performed 457, 297, and 219 engagements respectively. In comparison, Prince William and Kate only carried out 172 and 123 engagements respectively.
Gareth Russell, a royal author, spoke exclusively to GB News to discuss whether or not Sophie and Edward deserve more credit for performing a larger number of engagements than the future King and Queen.
He said: "Back in the day, in the midpoint and later point of Queen Elizabeth II’s reign, you could have made the same case with the Kents and the Gloucesters.
Princess Kate has gone to hospital for planned abdominal surgeryPA"All four of them were in public life and they got on with it with absolutely no fanfare at all."
The royal author explained why Sophie and Edward find themselves in a similar situation to the Gloucesters and the Kents.
Russell continued: "The Edinburghs are in that same ilk, if you like.
"But although they don't get the media coverage that a lot of the more famous royals do, if you look at public opinion and public approval for the Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh, it's consistently high and only getting higher."
King Charles is set for a hospital procedure next week for an enlarged prostate.PALATEST ROYAL NEWS:
Kate and William have a very close bond with Sophie and Edward
PAAfter Prince Harry and Meghan Markle stepped down from royal duties in January 2020, many commentators noted the close relationship between the Waleses and the Edinburghs.
Sophie and Kate are often seen smiling and laughing together at royal events, from Royal Ascot to King Charles's Coronation on the Buckingham Palace balcony.
According to Russell, the duke and duchess have the support of the British public as popular working royals.
He added: "So in that sense, even though they don't get a huge amount of media attention, they certainly get an immense amount of public goodwill for their work."