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Sophie
Countess of Wessex
The Earl and Countess on their wedding day
Spouse	Edward, Earl of Wessex
Issue
Lady Louise Windsor James Windsor, Viscount Severn
Full name
Sophie Helen[1]
Detail Titles and styles
HRH The Countess of Wessex Miss Sophie Rhys-Jones
Royal house	House of Windsor
Father	Christopher Rhys-Jones
Mother	Mary Rhys-Jones
Born	20 January 1965 (1965-01-20) (age 43) Radcliffe Infirmary, Oxford
Occupation	prev. public relations

Sophie, Countess of Wessex (born Sophie Helen Rhys-Jones on 20 January 1965) is the wife of Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex, himself the youngest son of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. Married to Edward in 1999, Sophie worked in public relations until 2002. She now supports her husband in his royal duties, and the couple has two children.

Early life

Sophie was born at Radcliffe Infirmary, Oxford, on 20 January 1965, the second child and first daughter of Christopher Bournes Rhys-Jones, a retired tire salesman, and his wife, Mary (née O'Sullivan), a secretary,^[2] who already had a son, David. Sophie was named for her father's sister, Helen, who died in a riding accident more than a decade before Sophie was born.

While she was still young, Sophie's family moved to Kent, where she began her education at Dulwich College Preparatory School, before moving on to Kent College Pembury. She then trained as a secretary at West Kent College.

Career

Sophie began a career in public relations, working for a variety of firms, including Capital Radio, where she was assigned to the press and promotions department, as well as public relations companies The Quentin Bell Organisation and MacLaurin Communications & Media. In 1996, with enough experience behind her, Sophie then launched her own public relations agency, RJH Public Relations, which she ran with her business partner, Murray Harkin.

A few days before her wedding, The Sun newspaper published a picture of Sophie posing topless with Capital Radio presenter Chris Tarrant, a photo that had been taken when Sophie still worked at the station. It was revealed later that the picture had been sold to the media for the highest price by a former friend of the Countess. Then, in 2001, a News of the World undercover reporter, Mazher Mahmood, posing as a shaikh, recorded Sophie making disparaging comments about certain members of the British government, and appearing to use her royal status in order to gain clientelle. The comments were subsequently published in The Mail on Sunday newspaper, and then by other media outlets. In an effort to prevent publication of her comments, the Countess agreed to give an interview to News of the World about her views on the possibility of undergoing IVF fertility treatment. However, the tabloid printed the story regardless, under the headline: "My Edward's Not Gay". Subsequently, in 2002, both Sophie and the Earl announced that they would quit their business interests in order to focus on their royal duties and aid the Queen in her Golden Jubilee year.

Marriage

British Royal Family
HM The Queen HRH The Duke of Edinburgh HRH The Prince of Wales HRH The Duchess of Cornwall HRH Prince William of Wales HRH Prince Henry of Wales HRH The Duke of York HRH Princess Beatrice of York HRH Princess Eugenie of York HRH The Earl of Wessex HRH The Countess of Wessex Viscount Severn Lady Louise Windsor HRH The Princess Royal HRH The Duke of Gloucester HRH The Duchess of Gloucester HRH The Duke of Kent HRH The Duchess of Kent HRH Prince Michael of Kent HRH Princess Michael of Kent HRH Princess Alexandra
v • d • e

It was announced on 6 January 1999 that Sophie and Prince Edward, the youngest son of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, were engaged, and 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. On the same day, the Queen created Edward Earl of Wessex and Viscount Severn, the latter reflecting Sophie's Welsh origins. Thus, Sophie took the style of Her Royal Highness and the title Countess of Wessex. After the union, the couple moved to Bagshot Park, in Surrey.

In December 2001, the Countess was rushed to the King Edward VII Hospital after feeling unwell, whereupon it was discovered that she was suffering from a potentially life-threatening ectopic pregnancy. It was announced in 2003 that Sophie was again pregnant, and she went into labour on 8 November of that year. It was, however, a premature birth, resulting from a sudden placental abruption that placed both the 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. Sophie returned to Frimley Park Hospital on 17 December 2007, to give birth, again by caesarean section, to her second child.^[3]

Official duties

The Countess of Wessex began to take on royal duties after her wedding, with her first overseas tour being to the Canadian province of Prince Edward Island in 2000.^[4] She also became patron of a number of organisations, including the SAFC Foundation (the charitable arm of Sunderland AFC), and Girlguiding UK. In 2006, the Countess also lent her support to the Born in Bradford research project, which is investigating causes of low birth weight and infant mortality.

Titles, styles, honours and arms

[] Titles and styles

• 20 January 1965 – 19 June 1999: Miss Sophie Rhys-Jones
• 19 June 1999 – : Her Royal Highness The Countess of Wessex

Sophie's style and title in full: Her Royal Highness The Princess Edward Antony Richard Louis, Countess of Wessex, Viscountess Severn, Dame of Justice of the Most Venerable Order of the Hospital of St John of Jerusalem.

Honours

Appointments

• 2004: Royal Family Order of Queen Elizabeth II^[5]
• 2005 – : Dame of Justice of the Most Venerable Order of the Hospital of St John of Jerusalem (DStJ)^[5]

Decorations

• 7 June 2005: Commemorative Medal for the Centennial of Saskatchewan^[6]

Honorary military appointments

Canada

• Colonel-in-Chief of the South Alberta Light Horse
• Colonel-in-Chief of the Lincoln and Welland Regiment

 United Kingdom United Kingdom

• Colonel-in-Chief of the Queen Alexandra's Royal Army Nursing Corps
• Royal Colonel of the 5th Battalion The Rifles
• Honorary Air Commodore Royal Air Force Wittering
• Ship's Sponsor of HMS Daring

Arms

Arms of Sophie, Countess of Wessex Notes The Countess bears the arms of her husband impaled with her own.

Ancestry

Sophie is the 11th cousin once removed of her husband, through their common ancestors Nicholas St John and his wife, Elizabeth (née Blount). She is also of Welsh and Irish ancestry, through her father and mother respectively; as well as being a descendant of King Henry II of France. Sophie's maternal grandmother belonged to the house of the Viscount Molesworth.

Issue

See also

• British Royal Family

References

Index Of Related Pages