by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2014
Credit – Wikipedia
Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Edinburgh is the wife of Prince Edward, The Duke of Edinburgh. Sophie Helen Rhys-Jones was born on January 20, 1965, at Radcliffe Infirmary in Oxford, England. She is the youngest of the two children of Christopher Rhys-Jones (born 1931), a retired tire salesman, and Mary (née O’Sullivan, 1934–2005). Sophie has an elder brother David (born 1963). She is distantly related to the Viscounts Molesworth through her paternal grandmother and, as are many people, she is a descendant of King Edward III of England, and also of King Henry IV of England through his son Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester.
Sophie with her father at Royal Ascot in 2012; Credit – www.getty.images.com
Sophie’s family moved to Kent when she was young and she grew up in a 17th-century farmhouse in the West Kent village of Brenchley. She began her education at Dulwich Preparatory School in Cranbrook, Kent, England, and then attended Kent College School for Girls in Pembury, Kent, England. Sophie studied to be a secretary at West Kent College in Tonbridge, Kent, England.
In 1993, Prince Edward renewed a casual acquaintance with Sophie Rhys-Jones at a Real Tennis Challenge, hosted by the Prince. Sophie, the public relations executive handling the event, was reportedly charmed by the youngest of the Queen’s sons, and he was with her. After a long courtship, their engagement was announced on January 6, 1999.
Engagement announcement; Photo Credit – www.gettyimages.in
On June 19, 1999, Edward and Sophie were married at St. George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle. There were only about 550 guests, far fewer than at the weddings of Edward’s brothers Charles and Andrew, but an estimated 200 million viewers from around the world watched on television. Sophie had a quite remarkable accessory for her wedding, a beautiful black and white pearl necklace and matching earrings designed by Edward as a personal wedding gift. After her marriage, Sophie’s style and title were Her Royal Highness The Countess of Wessex. On March 10, 2019, Edward’s 55th birthday, The Queen granted him an additional title Earl of Forfar for use when he is in Scotland. Therefore, Sophie uses the title Countess of Forfar when in Scotland.
At the time of Sophie’s wedding, it was announced that Prince Edward would eventually be granted the Dukedom of Edinburgh, his father’s title, at such time when it reverted back to the Crown. The title Duke of Edinburgh automatically passed to Edward’s eldest brother Charles when their father died in April 2021, and merged into the Crown in September 2022 when Charles acceded to the throne. King Charles III granted his younger brother Prince Edward the title Duke of Edinburgh on his 59th birthday, March 10, 2023, and Sophie is now styled Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Edinburgh.
Photo Credit – royalweddings.hellomagazine.com
After she had left West Kent College, Sophie had begun a career in public relations at Capital Radio and then worked for the public relations firms Quentin Bell Organization and MacLaurin Communications and Media. She also worked as a ski representative in Switzerland and spent a year traveling and working in Australia. In 1996, Sophie started a public relations agency, R-JH Public Relations, which she ran with a business partner for five years.
In 2001, an undercover reporter posing as a sheikh recorded Sophie, by then a member of the British Royal Family, making unfavorable comments about members of the British Royal Family and the Government and appearing to use her royal status in order to gain clientele for her company. The comments were published in the media and this caused a scandal that had to be addressed by Buckingham Palace. Sophie left her business in 2002 to focus on royal duties and support The Queen during her Golden Jubilee.
Sophie and Edward have two children:
- Lady Louise Mountbatten-Windsor (born 2003)
- James Mountbatten-Windsor, Earl of Wessex (born 2007)
Sophie carried out a full schedule of engagements in the United Kingdom and overseas in support of Queen Elizabeth II, and now her brother-in-law King Charles III, her husband, and the charities and organizations with which she is involved. She is particularly interested in working with organizations that help children and young people with sensory, learning, and communications disabilities such as Dyslexia Action, Mencap, the National Autistic Society, the Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists, and Vision 2020.
Sophie and Edward in 2014; Photo Credit – www.zimbio.com
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