Once dubbed the ‘Fab Four’, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle were previously seen alongside Prince William and Kate Middleton at many royal engagements.
WATCH: The Fab Four arrive at Sandringham
But now, it appears the Sussexes have officially been replaced, as a new Fab Four stepped out alongside the Queen at a rare joint family engagement on Tuesday.
As it turns out, Sophie, Countess of Wessex and Prince Edward helped fill the gap left by the Sussexes, when they joined Wills and Kate at an event to mark the finale of their train tour.
The Cambridges, who have just completed their tour of England, Scotland and Wales, reunited with senior members of the royal family for a special event at Windsor Castle.
Sophie’s regal role has increased somewhat in the months since Harry and Meghan stepped down as senior royals and she has become known as the Queen’s ‘secret weapon’.
With the Countess and Prince Edward aged 55 and 56 respectively, they are the second youngest working royal couple after Wills and Kate so it only seems fitting they should replace the Sussexes.
According to Express, the senior royals were treated to a special Christmas carol performance by the Regent Hall Band of the Salvation Army as they stood on the steps in front of Windsor Castle.
Despite coming together for the rare meetup, the royal family will reportedly spend the holiday season separately this year, due to the ongoing pandemic and COVID restrictions.
The royal reunion comes after William and Kate were seemingly criticised on social media for embarking on their three-day cross-country rail journey to thank frontline workers.
After the Cambridges shared the news of their whirlwind tour on social media, many disgruntled fans slammed the couple for not setting a good example in the wake of the second lockdown.
“Prince William and Kate are irresponsible to travel while the British cannot travel. A bad example as usual,” one person wrote.
“This is the exact opposite of everything medical workers have been begging the public to do for months and months. Seriously, how are these two so stupid?” another fan stated.
A third person added: “People are starving! Stop wasting money! Stay home! #PrinceWilliam.”
Meanwhile, another person criticised the move, writing: “Prince William and Kate are absolutely deluded.”
According to the BBC, there have reportedly been more than 1.5 million confirmed cases of coronavirus in the UK with more than 55,000 people dying from the virus.
