Tuesday, 20 January 2015

Sophie and the sweet taste of success

She got a cracker of a birthday cake and wasn't shy about tucking in. She's never looked better and, arguably, has never been more appreciated. As the Countess of Wessex turns fifty there is widespread celebration of her work and a growing realisation that suddenly Sophie is a star and then some. The woman who married into the Royal Family at one of the hardest moments in its recent existence and who could quite easily have become an also ran is now a mainstay of the House of Windsor. Turning fifty really is sweet for the Countess of Wessex.


The Countess of Wessex cuts her birthday cake while Prince Edward looks on
(photo British Monarchy Twitter)

The countess spent the day on a series of engagements with her husband in Kennington where she attended engagements in support of Tomorrow's People, an employment charity of which she is patron. Then it was on to an engagement for Queen Elizabeth Diamond Jubilee Trust which saw Sophie, accompanied by husband Edward, head to the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine to see the work of the Avoidable Blindness programme run by the trust.  There was also a rendition of Happy Birthday from school children for the countess as well as she enjoyed her special day.
A video posted by The British Monarchy (@the_british_monarchy) on

Sophie Helen Rhys-Jones was born on January 20th 1965 in Oxford, the second child of Christopher and Mary Rhys Jones, She was working in PR when she began her relationship with Prince Edward, youngest child of the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh. The couple announced their engagement in January 1999 and married at St George's Chapel, Windsor on June 19th that year. The prince was made Earl of Wessex on the day of their marriage. The countess suffered an ectopic pregnancy in 2001 before giving birth by emergency caesarean section to a daughter in November 2003. Lady Louise Wessex was joined by a brother, James, in December 2007. The family now lives in Surrey.



The countess embraced her royal role early on but in the last five years she has really come into her own. She is known as a hard worker with a wide range of charities and organisations enjoying her patronage. She is a fashion icon with a sense of style that just seems to get better and better. And she is at the heart of a happy family and enjoys good relations with the Queen.  But overall, the impression of Sophie at fifty is as the constant countess, a woman who married into the Royals when they were still recovering from the shock of the death of Diana. Sophie helped work towards the change in fortunes which now sees the royals more popular than ever before. She has been a large part of that success and her steady, confident and, yes, glamourous presence is a huge plus point for the Windsors. Fifty years old, fifteen years a royal and at the very top of her game. Life is sweet for the countess.


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