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Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh

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"Countess of Wessex" redirects here. For the title, see Earl of Wessex.
Sophie
Countess of Wessex (more)
The Countess at the wedding of Princess Madeleine of Sweden and Christopher O'Neill in Stockholm, June 2013
BornSophie Helen Rhys-Jones
(1965-01-20) 20 January 1965 (age 59)
Radcliffe Infirmary, Oxford
Spouse
​
​
(m. 1999)​
Issue
HouseWindsor (by marriage)
FatherChristopher Rhys-Jones
MotherMary O'Sullivan
Royal family of
the United Kingdom and the
other Commonwealth realms
Badge of the House of Windsor

Sophie, Countess of Wessex, GCVO (Sophie Helen; née Rhys-Jones; born 20 January 1965), is the wife of Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex, the youngest son of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. Married in 1999, she worked in public relations until 2002 and now assists her husband in his various activities. The Earl and Countess have two children: James, Viscount Severn, and Lady Louise Windsor, who are respectively tenth and eleventh in line to the British throne.

Early life

Sophie Helen Rhys-Jones was born at Radcliffe Infirmary, Oxford, on 20 January 1965, the second child and first daughter of Christopher Bournes Rhys-Jones (born 1931), a retired tyre salesman, and his wife, Mary (née O'Sullivan; 1934–2005), a secretary.[1] She has an elder brother, David, and was named after her father's sister, Helen, who died in a riding accident in 1960. Her godfather, actor Thane Bettany, was her father's stepbrother;[2] both men spent their early life in Sarawak, North Borneo, then a British Protectorate ruled by the White Rajahs.[3]

Sophie was raised in a four-bedroom 17th-century farmhouse in Brenchley, Kent. She began her education at Dulwich Preparatory School, before moving on to Kent College, Pembury, where she was friends with Sarah Sienesi, with whom she subsequently shared a flat in Fulham and who later became her lady-in-waiting. Sophie then trained as a secretary at West Kent College, Tonbridge.[4]

Career

She began a career in public relations, working for a variety of firms, including four years at Capital Radio,[5] where she was assigned to the press and promotions department, as well as public relations companies The Quentin Bell Organisation and MacLaurin Communications & Media.[6] She also worked as a ski representative in Switzerland and spent a year travelling and working in Australia. In 1996, Rhys-Jones launched her public relations agency, RJH Public Relations, which she ran with her business partner, Murray Harkin, for five years.[6][7]

Marriage

Further information: Wedding of Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex, and Sophie Rhys-Jones and Wedding dress of Sophie Rhys-Jones
The Earl and Countess of Wessex at Trooping the Colour in June 2013

While working at Capital Radio, Sophie met Prince Edward, the youngest son of the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh, for the first time in 1987 when he was dating her friend.[8] She met Prince Edward again at a charity event in 1993, and the two began their relationship soon afterwards.[9] Their engagement was announced on 6 January 1999. Edward proposed to Sophie with an engagement ring featuring a two-carat oval diamond flanked by two heart-shaped gemstones set in 18-carat white gold. This engagement ring was made by Asprey and Garrard (now Garrard & Co) and is worth an estimated £105,000.[10] The wedding took place on 19 June of the same year at St George's Chapel at Windsor Castle, a break from the weddings of Edward's older siblings, which were large, formal events at Westminster Abbey or St Paul's Cathedral.[11] On the day of their marriage, Prince Edward was created a hereditary peer as Earl of Wessex with the subsidiary title of Viscount Severn, and the Queen declared her intention that he be elevated as Duke of Edinburgh when that title reverts to the Crown. The couple spent their honeymoon at Balmoral Castle.[11] Following their union, the Earl and Countess moved to Bagshot Park, their home in Surrey.[12]

Sophie who has reportedly been close to the Queen since the beginning of her relationship with Edward was allowed to use the royal apartments at Buckingham Palace prior to her engagement.[13] After the death of Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother in 2002, Sophie became the second highest-ranking woman in the U.K.'s order of precedence, preceded only by the Queen, as her brothers-in-law, the Prince of Wales and the Duke of York, were then unmarried.[14] With the marriages of the Prince of Wales and the Duke of Cambridge and changes in favour of princesses by blood for private occasions, Sophie now ranks after her sisters-in-law, the Princess Royal and the Duchess of Cornwall; her nieces, Beatrice and Eugenie; her niece-in-law Catherine and her mother-in-law's cousin Alexandra.[15]

The Earl and Countess have two children: Lady Louise Windsor (born 8 November 2003) and James, Viscount Severn (born 17 December 2007).

In December 2001, the Countess was taken to the King Edward VII Hospital after feeling unwell. It was discovered that she was suffering from an ectopic pregnancy and the foetus had to be removed.[16] Two years later, on 8 November 2003, she prematurely gave birth to her daughter, Louise, resulting from a sudden placental abruption that placed both mother and child at risk, and the Countess had to undergo an emergency caesarean section at Frimley Park Hospital, while the Earl of Wessex rushed back from Mauritius.[17] The Countess returned to Frimley Park Hospital on 17 December 2007, to give birth, again by caesarean section, to her son, James, Viscount Severn.[18]

Activities

The Countess at the England vs Germany 2010 Women's Hockey Champions Trophy Bronze Medal Match

The Countess of Wessex's first overseas tour after her marriage was to the Canadian province of Prince Edward Island in 2000.[19] She also became patron of a number of organisations, including the SAFC Foundation (the charitable arm of Sunderland A.F.C.) and Girlguiding UK.[20][21] Moved by the death of her friend Jill Dando in 1999, the Countess became a trustee of UCL Jill Dando Institute, an institute of crime science established in her name in 2001.[22] In 2003, after quitting her business interests she became more involved in charity works and started to carry out solo engagements on behalf of the royal family.[22] She started to support charities that focus on communications difficulties, including Southampton General Hospital, and the New Haven Trust in Toronto.[22] She also became patron of Tomorrow's People Trust.[23] The Countess has also been the chair of the Duke of Edinburgh's Award Women in Business Group since 2003, a committee that was founded by her.[24] In 2006, she also lent her support to the Born in Bradford research project, which investigated causes of low birth weight and infant mortality between 2007 and 2010.[25][26]

In December 2011, the Countess of Wessex joined her husband visiting troops in Afghanistan. On the same trip, the royal couple visited Bahrain, and received two gifts of jewels from the Bahraini royal family and Prime Minister. Given concern about human rights abuses in Bahrain, this gift attracted controversy, with calls for the jewels to be sold, and the proceeds used for the benefit of the Bahraini people.[27] In February and March 2012, the Earl and Countess visited the Caribbean for the Diamond Jubilee, visiting Saint Lucia, Barbados, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Grenada, Trinidad and Tobago, Montserrat, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Anguilla and Antigua and Barbuda. Highlights of the tour included the 50th Anniversary Independence Day celebrations in Saint Lucia, a joint address from both houses of the Barbados Parliament and a visit to sites affected by the recent volcanic eruptions in Montserrat.[28] In 2013, the couple visited South Africa and Sophie later made solo trips to India and Qatar as the patron of the sight-saving charity Orbis UK.[13] In her capacity as patron of Vision 2020: The Right to Sight and ambassador for IAPB, the Countess visited numerous facilities in Qatar and India in order to raise awareness about preventable blindness.[29][30] Her work on the issue has been described as influential in creating the Qatar Creating Vision initiative.[29] She subsequently wrote an article on the subject which was published on the Daily Telegraph in October 2013.[31] She made a similar visit to Bangladesh in November 2017.[32]

The Countess during her visit to Belfast, January 2018

On 26 March 2015, she attended the reburial of Richard III of England in Leicester Cathedral.[33] In September 2016, the Countess took part in a cycling challenge from the Holyrood Palace to Buckingham Palace for the Duke of Edinburgh's Award's Diamond Challenge.[34] In December 2016, she participated in ICAP charity day in order to raise money for Shooting Star Chase,[35] a children's hospice of which she has been a patron.[36] At the same month, after the Queen stepped down from her position as patron of numerous charities, Sophie replaced her as the principal patron of NSPCC and Blind Veterans UK.[37][38] An avid supporter of charities that deal with learning disabilities, the Countess made a solo trip to Belfast in January 2018 to visit a number of charities that she had supported through her work over the last decade including Mencap's Children's Centre.[39] She also opened the new dementia-friendly unit of Northern Ireland Hospice, the first of its kind in the UK.[39]

Fashion style

Although Sophie was not initially prominent for her fashion style, she subsequently began to develop her own style and has worn outfits by Bruce Oldfield, Emilia Wickstead, Erdem Moralıoğlu, Mary Katrantzou, Oscar de la Renta, Valentino, Alexander McQueen, Victoria Beckham, Azzedine Alaïa, and Stella McCartney.[40] Alongside the Duchess of Cambridge and Meghan Markle, Sophie has been named one of the most stylish members of the royal family.[40][41] The Countess who has been able to create her own fashion trend throughout the past years is particularly known for wearing different combinations of hats and coats, and favours silk dresses and frocks.[41] Describing her style in an interview by Sunday Express Sophie said: "It's about my charities but I recognize that I'm on display. [...] When you walk into a room, yes, people are going to talk about what you're doing there, but they're also going to want to know what you're wearing".[42] She also revealed that she has never had a stylist of her own and that she makes her fashion choices herself.[42][43] In 2015, the Countess was named on Vanity Fair's Best Dressed List.[44] Together with the Duchess of Cambridge, the Countess hosted the Commonwealth Fashion Exchange reception at Buckingham Palace during the 2018 London Fashion Week.[45][46]

Privacy and the media

Violation of privacy

In May 1999, less than a month before her wedding, the Sun published a photo of a topless Sophie with her Capital Radio colleague Chris Tarrant, which was taken during a business trip to Spain in 1988.[47][48][49] Buckingham Palace immediately issued a statement saying, "This morning's story in The Sun is a gross invasion of privacy and cannot be regarded as in the public interest. It has caused considerable distress."[47][49] Prime Minister Tony Blair also condemned the publication of the photograph.[47][48] The Palace made an official complaint to the Press Complaints Commission (PCC).[47][48] According to Sophie's business partner the incident had left her "distressed", and she was reportedly "devastated" and felt "she was 'letting the side down’ before her wedding".[49][47][50] Tarrant later said, "There was never, ever the slightest hint of romance between Sophie and myself, let alone these snidey insinuations."[47] Following its publication, the newspaper issued a statement and apologised to Rhys-Jones[47] and the next issue came out with the headline "Sorry, Sophie".[48] It also said that it would again apologise to Sophie in a letter and donate all sale proceeds of the issue to her charities.[48][51] The photo had been given to the tabloid by Kara Noble, a friend and colleague of Sophie, for £100,000.[47][48] Noble later apologised in the following months saying, "I just want to say sorry to everyone who was involved."[52] Both she and the newspaper faced criticism from the public,[47] and Noble was fired from her job at Heart 106.2 FM.[49] The couple later decided not to make a formal complaint.[51]

Media sting

In April 2001, Sophie appeared in the media after she was misled in a meeting at the Dorchester by a News of the World reporter posing as an Arab sheikh, Mazher Mahmood,[53][54] who was later exposed for perjury in Southwark Crown Court.[55] It was claimed by the newspapers that during their "secretly taped" conversation, the Countess had insulted the Royal Family and politicians, calling the Queen "old dear", and referring to Cherie Blair as "absolutely horrid, horrid, horrid", as well as criticising the leadership of Prime Minister Tony Blair and Chancellor of the Exchequer Gordon Brown, and mocking Leader of the Opposition William Hague's appearance.[53][54][56] It was reported by the Mail on Sunday and Sunday Mirror that the Countess subsequently had sent apology letters to Blair, Hague and Prince Charles.[53]

Buckingham Palace denied the accuracy of the reports saying, "The Countess of Wessex, who is trying to pursue her own career, is obviously vulnerable to set-ups such as this."[53] The Palace released a statement saying the reported comments were "selective, distorted and in several cases, flatly untrue".[53] The Palace officials stated that the Countess hadn't insulted the Queen, the Queen Mother, or the politicians, and the rumours about her difficulties in marriage and her alleged comments about her husband's sexuality were untrue, while according to the Mail on Sunday multiple reliable sources had confirmed these reports.[53] Subsequently, in 2002, both the Earl and Countess announced that they would quit their business interests in order to focus on activities and official engagements on behalf of the royal family and aid the Queen in her Golden Jubilee year.[57]

Jewellery gifts

The Countess of Wessex has been criticised for accepting two sets of jewels from the royal family of Bahrain during an official day-long[58] visit to the country in December 2011, as she and her husband returned to the UK from a trip to Afghanistan. She was given one set by Bahrain's king and a second set by the country’s prime minister, Sheikh Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa. Her husband, the Earl, received a pen and a watch as well as a silk rug from the Crown Prince of Bahrain, Prince Salman bin Hamad al-Khalifa, who also gave the countess a silver and pearl cup. The value of the jewellery has not been estimated and its precise contents were not disclosed.[59]

Critics said the Countess should sell the gems and give the proceeds to political protesters in Bahrain. Denis MacShane, then a Labour MP and previously a Foreign Office minister, said: “Given the appalling suffering and repression of the Bahraini people, it would be a fitting gesture for the Countess of Wessex to auction these trinkets and distribute the proceeds to the victims of the regime.”[59]

Royal Family guidelines and procedures relating to gifts published by the government in 2003, state that "before accepting any gift, careful consideration should always be given, wherever practicable, to the donor, the reason for and occasion of the gift and the nature of the gift itself (..) Equally, before declining the offer of a gift, careful consideration should be given to any offence that might be caused by such action."[58]

Titles, styles, honours and arms

Titles and styles

Since her marriage, Sophie has been styled as "Her Royal Highness The Countess of Wessex".[60]

Honours

See also: List of honours of the British Royal Family by country
Orders
Medals

Honorary military appointments

Sophie dressed as Honorary Air Commodore on a visit to Kandahar, December 2011
Canada Canada
United Kingdom United Kingdom

Arms

Coat of arms of Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh
Notes
The Countess bears the arms of her husband, Prince Edward, the Earl of Wessex, impaled with her father's.[65]
Adopted
1999
Coronet
Coronet of a Child of the Sovereign
Escutcheon
Quarterly, 1st and 4th, Gules three lions passant guardant in pale Or armed and langed Azure, 2nd Or a lion rampant Gules armed and langued Azure within a double tressure flory counterflory of the second, 3rd Azure a harp Or stringed Argent, the whole differenced with a label of three points Argent with the central point charged with a Tudor rose; impaled with a shield quarterly Gules and Azure a lion rampant regardant within an orle Or (for Rhys-Jones).
Supporters
Dexter, a lion rampant gardant Or crowned with the coronet of the rank of a child of the Sovereign proper; Sinister a wyvern Azure, gorged with a coronet Or composed of crosses pattées and fleurs de lis a chain affixed also Or.
Motto
CAS GŴR NI CHÂR Y WLAD A'I MACO
(Welsh: Hateful the man who loves not the country that nurtured him)
Orders
The Royal Victorian Order circlet.
VICTORIA
The Badge of the Order of St John.
Maltese Cross (optional as DJStJ).
Other elements
Insignia of GCVO appended
Symbolism
Prior to marriage, Sophie Rhys-Jones had her arms redesigned by the Garter Principal King of Arms Sir Peter Gwynn-Jones, based on a 200-year-old previous coat of arms, which had never been officially recognised. The new grant of arms applied to her father Christopher with remainder to his older brother Theo. The grant alludes to her family's noble Welsh heritage and one of her ancestors the warrior Elystan Glodrydd, Prince of Ferrig (represented by the Lion). The colours of red and blue are also the colours of the Royal Fusiliers Regiment, in which members of her family have served. She is quoted saying: "It's wonderful, I'm absolutely thrilled", "It's not modern and different, because it is representative of my family's heritage, so it's in keeping with that."[65]
Previous versions
Previous versions were depicted without the Royal Victorian Order, to which she was only appointed in 2010, but superimposed upon the badge of the Order St John (as DJStJ). Prior to her marriage, she bore her father's arms on a lozenge only.

Ancestry

Sophie descends from the Lancastrian King Henry IV of England.[66] She is also related to the family of the Viscounts Molesworth by the descent of her paternal grandmother – Margaret Patricia Molesworth (1904–1985) – from Robert Molesworth, 1st Viscount Molesworth. Sophie's paternal grandfather, Theophilus Rhys-Jones (d. 1959), was headmaster of St Peter's School, Harefield, Exmouth, Devon.[67]

Family of Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh
16. Theophilus Rhys-Jones
8. Theophilus Rhys-Jones
17. Emily Amelia Woods
4. Theophilus Rhys-Jones
18. George Hunter Tait
9. Sarah Margaret Tait
19. Mary Jane Slater
2. Christopher Bournes Rhys-Jones
20. John Molesworth
10. Lawrence Teesdale Molesworth
21. Mary Newall
5. Margaret Patricia Newall Molesworth
22. George Smith Bournes
11. Anna Maria Caroline Wallace Bournes
23. Elizabeth Hartley Isabella Wallace
1. Sophie, Countess of Wessex
24. Cornelius O'Sullivan
12. Michael O'Sullivan
25. Agnes McFeely
6. Cornelius Thomas O'Sullivan
26. Daniel O'Connor
13. Mary Ann O'Connor
27. Bridget Power
3. Mary O'Sullivan
28. Charles Henry Stokes
14. George Frederick Stokes
29. Maria Archer
7. Doris Emma Stokes
30. Alexander Saunders
15. Emma Saunders
31. Emma Lyne

See also

References

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  31. ^ HRH The Countess of Wessex (10 October 2013). "World Sight Day: Blindness is a matter of life and death, argues The Countess of Wessex". The Telegraph. Retrieved 11 March 2018.
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  45. ^ Davis, Jennifer (19 February 2018). "Pregnant Kate Middleton Hosts Fashion Reception at Buckingham Palace in Flirty Floral Dress". InStyle. Retrieved 12 March 2018.
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  63. ^ "The Earl and Countess of Wessex Receive Centennial Medal" (Press release). Government of Saskatchewan. 7 June 2005. Archived from the original on 11 June 2011. Retrieved 27 October 2008. {{cite press release}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  64. ^ "Garrison Community Council - Upcoming Events".
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  66. ^ Charles Mosley, editor. Burke's Peerage, Baronetage & Knightage, 107th edition, 3 volumes (Wilmington, Delaware, U.S.A.: Burke's Peerage (Genealogical Books) Ltd, 2003), volume 2, page 2720.
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External links

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