The countdown is on to the meeting of style icons: Kate, Duchess of Cambridge will come face to face to Canada's glamorous First Lady when she and Prince William jet to Canada later this week for their royal tour.
And while we all know Sophie Trudeau for her wonderful wardrobe and handsome husband Justin Trudeau, Prime Minister of Canada, there's a whole lot more to Canada's first lady than that. HELLO! takes a look at the charming, charismatic female who has won over the hearts of her nation – and has a lot in common with our very own Duchess.
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Sophie is hugely popular in Canada
Sophie has been in her role for a little less than a year, since her husband Justin, son of former Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau and author, actress and activist Margaret Sinclair, was sworn into office in November 2015. Yet already, the 41-year-old has a legion of fans in her home country and beyond, among them Britain's Queen, the Obamas and the Emperor and Empress of Japan.
Canada's current "Trudeaumania" is as much thanks to Sophie's popularity as her that of her husband. A former TV personality, the nation's new leading lady is a natural in front of the cameras, with a warmth and empathy that shines through on every occasion.
Like Kate, she is blessed with stunning brunette locks, which she sets off to perfection with a young, fresh and colourful yet wardrobe – setting off a 'Sophie effect' akin to the famous 'Kate effect'.
Together, she and Justin are, as she puts it, "a team", and he doesn't hesitate in showing his wife affection, or praising her in public.
Sophie is a former TV personality
LOVE AND DEVOTION
The only child of a stockbroker and a former nurse, Sophie got to know her future husband as a little girl, when she was a friend and classmate of Justin's youngest brother Michel, who sadly died in an avalanche in 1998 at the age of 23. The two were to meet again years later when they co-hosted a charity fundraiser in 2003.
They went on a date some months later, when, Sophie revealed in 2011, Justin "looked into my eyes and said, 'I've been waiting for you 31 years. You're going to be my wife. We're going to have a family together'".
The pair share three children
The lovebirds wed in 2005, in an intimate ceremony in Montreal (complete with a gospel singer and Brazilian band for entertainment). Since then, Sophie has become mother to three adorable children – Xavier, eight, Ella-Grace, seven, and two-year-old Hadrien – to whom she and Justin are clearly devoted. Just as Kate and William opted to take Prince George and Princess Charlotte along with them on their Canada tour, Sophie and Justin took their young trio to the United States in March, where they met US President Barack Obama and his wife Michelle at the White House. The five children are expected to meet during this forthcoming tour.
Like the Duke and Duchess, Sophie and Justin are down-to-earth and hands-on in their approach to parenthood. They are often pictured out and about as a family, including when Justin became the first prime minister to attend Vancouver's Pride parade this summer.
PROFESSIONAL PERSONA
As a former TV personality – Sophie has worked as Quebec correspondent for Canadian entertainment programme eTalk, as well as reporting for several publications and co-hosting a radio programme – so Sophie is no stranger to the limelight.
She earned a standing ovation at a Martin Luther King Day celebration in January thanks to an impromptu a cappella performance of a song she'd written for her daughter, Ella-Grace. Three months later she stole the show from her husband when she did yoga on stage at the annual parliamentary press gallery dinner!
Michelle Obama has called Sophie her "soulmate"
But it's not just a sense of style and parenting ideals that Sophie and Kate share, they are also similarly dedicated to helping the less fortunate, and Sophie, like Kate, is not afraid to shine a compassionate light on challenging issues.
The glamorous first lady's worked hard to remove the stigma surrounding eating disorders, speaking openly of her own battle with bulimia in the 1990s. It was America's own dynamic, campaigning First Lady Michelle Obama, speaking after the two had bonded over Michelle's Let Girls Learn initiative, who said: "Sophie's a very passionate advocate for women and girls. "She's like my soulmate right now." No doubt Sophie and Kate will hit it off just as famously.
