Queen only broke royal tradition for ‘close friend’ Sophie Wessex

The late Queen Elizabeth II was incredibly dutiful and took her role as the sovereign incredibly seriously. There are a lot of traditions and rules that the Royal Family abides by, especially when it came to the late monarch.Sometimes, however, tradition is broken for a very special reason and the late Queen’s gesture of concern for Sophie, Countess of Wessex is one example.Queen Elizabeth did not typically visit members of her family when they were in hospital but she made an exception in 2003 after Sophie gave birth to her oldest child, Lady Louise Windsor.Her mother-in-law must have been concerned, as she chose to visit Sophie at Frimley Park Hospital in Surrey.It was a worrying time, as the new mother had a traumatic birth, needing an emergency caesarean a month before her due date, with fears that she might not survive.READ MORE: Prince Harry ‘not pleased’ with Meghan’s ‘clingy’ behaviour Queen Elizabeth broke tradition for Sophie Wessex – showed their ‘bond’ (Image: GETTY) Sophie mourning Queen Elizabeth after her death (Image: GETTY)The act of kindness may also have been in part because Sophie and Louise had to be separated, with the baby receiving specialist care at St George’s Hospital in London.Thankfully, Sophie and Prince Edward’s second child, James, Viscount Severn, who was born in 2007, had a much smoother arrival at the same hospital.Edward is the only one of the Queen’s four children to not have been divorced, and the late monarch was said to be very fond of her long-time daughter-in-law.Judi James, a body language expert, told Express.co.uk that the Countess’ close relationship with the Queen was easily visible when Sophie stepped out at Balmoral Castle to see the flowers left for Her Late Majesty after she had died.DON’T MISS:’I was miserable’ – Fergie shares how she ‘lost close to 50 pounds’ [DIET]Queen Letizia gets ‘slim figure’ in 28 days – ‘inspiring role model’ [WEIGHT LOSS]Kate Middleton ‘lost weight’ before wedding for key reason – claim [CLAIM] Queen showed her ‘close friendship’ with Sophie in 2002 (Image: GETTY)”This not only makes Edward proud and made the late Queen prouder, but it has also seen the couple become the ‘fixers’ of the royal firm.”They are the ones trusted to act as a buffer between the battling Princes William and Harry and were supporting the late Queen in times of crisis.”Judi argues that Sophie’s character enables her to get on with many different personalities, which included Her Late Majesty.She said: “Sophie tends to be very open in terms of her signals of friendship, fun and active warmth at all levels of the royal firm, from the late Queen herself downward.”