There are a lot of traditions and rules that the Royal family abides by, especially when it comes to the monarch.
Sometimes, however, tradition is broken for a very special reason and the late Queen's gesture of concern for the Countess of Wessex is one example.
MORE: 14 rules the royals have to follow
The Queen 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.
WATCH: Prince Edward and Sophie Wessex's tears during the Queen's funeral
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.
SEE: 10 photos showing the Countess of Wessex's unbreakable bond with her late mother-in-law the Queen
READ: Royal rule-breakers! 14 times the Queen and her family bent the rules
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.
© Photo: Getty ImagesThe Countess and the late Queen got along so well
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.
Sophie broke new royal ground herself last month, when she travelled to the Democratic Republic of the Congo at the request of the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office.
© Photo: Getty ImagesPrince Edward and Sophie are doting parents
The Palace said that the aim of the trip was to focus on addressing the devastating impact of sexual and gender-based violence in conflict while supporting and empowering survivors and tackling the stigma they face.
Sophie was accompanied by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon, the Prime Minister's special representative on preventing sexual violence in conflict.
Sophie has campaigned on the issue for many years, travelling to countries including Kosovo, Lebanon, South Sudan and Sierre Leone to meet women peacebuilders and survivors of sexual violence.
