They could barely hear one another but at least, they made sure to see each other. In an interview with The Telegraph, the Wessexes recalled their time spent during lockdown and visiting the Queen and late Prince Philip outside Windsor.

       Edward and Sophie live with their children at Bagshot Park in Surrey, just a few miles down the road from Windsor Castle.

       During the first lockdown in 2020, they were close enough to visit the elderly monarchs but were not part of their bubble.

       “We used to see them stand on the balcony, which was about 20 feet up in the air,” the Countess said of their socially-distance meetings.

       “We'd see them waving. We'd shout at them and they'd shout back at us. It always seemed to be windy, so we could barely hear each other.”

       Incidentally, they were also the closest to the Queen when her husband died in April.

       Under Covid guidelines, they attended the Duke’s funeral but could not approach the Queen herself.

       “To see Her Majesty on her own; it was very poignant,” said the Countess of Wessex.

       A separation that was really tough for one of the Queen’s alleged favourites.

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       “When the Queen appears, even for private family gatherings, she will quickly find a crowd gathered around her,” a royal aide told The Telegraph.

       “The Countess always stands back and I think the Queen appreciates that.”

       “She never makes any demands of Her Majesty.”

       According to Prince Edward, those socially distanced chats from the balcony were very tough for his mother and late father.

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       He says the pandemic was “staggeringly difficult” for his parents, who were locked down for months together at Windsor Castle.

       “For them, life is so much about contact, it’s so much about people and then suddenly that all stops,” Prince Edward said.

       The Count confessed it is reassuring to witness his mother keeping busy since her husband’s death.

       Her responsibilities don’t “really give her very much time to dwell on anything for too long” he said.