Kate Middleton is known to have a close bond with the woman who was almost given the same title, Sophie Wessex ...

Sophie became the Countess of Wessex upon her marriage to Prince Edward in 1999; he did not receive a dukedom like his elder sibling Prince Andrew, instead being named the Earl of Wessex.

Prince Edward is the youngest child of the late Queen Elizabeth II and the late Prince Philip. He wed Sophie Rhys-Jones ... their wedding, they became the Earl and Countess of Wessex.

After her wedding ... Edward and Sophie were given the title of the Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh. The pair share two children - Lady Louise Windsor and James, Earl of Wessex. See also: Prince ...