Earl and Countess of Wessex and Famly current events 12: October 2009-

[Mermaid1962]

I can certainly see a resemblance to Queen Mary in the first picture from the Zimbio gallery posted above.

Originally Posted by Baerchen

Edward reminds me very much to Queen Mary. His face has the same features as hers. Does someone else perceive that way?

[Connie Cutmantle]

Does anyone know what Sophie's annual engagement tally per month/year is compared to Camilla or Anne? I am speaking post maternity leave! I sometimes wonder as looking through this thread it appears that Edward seems quite busy, but there seems less news about Sophie and her activities recently!

I am just curious!

I remember a segment in the 'Royal Family at Work' series a wonderful bit where Sophie was visiting a huge group of elderly people and she was chatting to one elderly woman and was kneeling or bending down as the old dear was seated. It appeared, that the woman was partially sighted or maybe she was blind and Sophie was trying describe the colour of her outfit and took the woman's hand and guided her fingers over the collar of her jacket as she tried to explain an aspect of the design.....I thought that was a magic moment and revealed a rather intuitive and strikingly attractive side of Sophie's manner with people.

[iceflower]

On November 5, Countess Sophie was in Leicestershire.

She visited Menphys centre in Wigston, a charity for children
with disabilities, as part of its 40th anniversary celebrations.
And later she officially opened Gateway College. Here are a
few nice pics from the events:


** Pic 1 ** Pic 2 ** Pic 3 ** Pic 4 ** Pic 5 **

[Skydragon]

The little girl in picture 2 does not seem to be too impressed with the whole thing.

[Connie Cutmantle]

Originally Posted by Skydragon

The little girl in picture 2 does not seem to be too impressed with the whole thing.

I don't suppose the little mite quite understood why the strange woman wanted to be photographed with her!

Lovely pictures Iceflower....thank you for sharing them...much appreciated!

It is funny but I always thought Sophie was a bit bland.....but she has grown on me quietly and gradually over the years, and I quite like the image and persona which she projects in public. She seems to have an easiness of manner and I really like the way she seems to smile so much.....I mean really smile...not a fixed 'face-ache' smile if you all know what I mean! And she isn't at all chocolate boxy either.....

[lumutqueen]

Sophie looks beautiful, the girl in the second picture looks a bit distracted.

[Camsterlaird]

In the week commencing 7th November, Sophie had 6 engagements, compared with 17 for Princess Anne, and 16 for Camilla. The Duchess of Gloucester had 4 engagements and Princess Alexandra had 7 engagements.


For the record Sophie's engagements were:
7th November - attended Royal British Legion Festival of Remembrance
8th November - attended the Cenotaph on Remembrance Sunday
10th November - presented the Tomorrow’s People Awards for Achievement at Plaisterers’ Hall in the City of London
11th November - attended a Business Leaders Lunch, and afterwards held a meeting of Childine at Buckingham Palace, and in the evening attended a dinner at the Dorchester Hotel in Park Lane

[Connie Cutmantle]

Camsterlaird - you are an absolute angel for providing such a detailed response to my query! Thank you very much! Interesting...perhaps Sophie was just having a quieter week than is generally the norm for her?!

But there was no surprise that the Princess Royal topped the chart of engagements fulfilled! She really is extraordinary...I mean talk about setting the high bench mark!

[stellad]

Could it be that Sophie has young children hence less activities for her compared to Pr Anne and others?

[Skydragon]

Sophie is not considered a full time working royal and is I understand, very hands on with her children. I don't think any of the royals should be judged on the amount of official engagements they participate in, otherwise we could end up with 100's of flying visits, with no substance.

[Connie Cutmantle]

Originally Posted by Skydragon

Sophie is not considered a full time working royal and is I understand, very hands on with her children. I don't think any of the royals should be judged on the amount of official engagements they participate in, otherwise we could end up with 100's of flying visits, with no substance.

Good point Skydragon re:- quotas and substance! I totally see your point in that!

I did not realize that Sophie was still actively making the most of her time with the children.....as I keep forgetting that James is still not quite two!!!! Who can blame Sophie for wanting to spend as much time as she can with him before he starts going to play school!!! Make the most of it I say!!!!

The more I see of her and the more I hear about her, the more I find my regard for Sophie increasing!

It may sound like a silly question but does anyone know if Edward and Sophie have any pets....dog(s) perhaps.....I am a dog person and anyone who has a dog gets lots of brownie points from me!

[Claire]

It may sound like a silly question but does anyone know if Edward and Sophie have any pets....dog(s) perhaps.....I am a dog person and anyone who has a dog gets lots of brownie points from me![/QUOTE]

Three last I heard. 2 Labs and a spaniel, Badger, Piper and Otto.

[Skydragon]

When exchange student Levi Gennrich arrived in New Zealand he never dreamt he would meet Prince Edward.
The Glenfield College student from Germany was on the Spirit of New Zealand boat on Waitemata Harbour with 40 other teenagers when the Prince came on board for a day

Prince one of the crew | Stuff.co.nz

[muriel]

Originally Posted by Camsterlaird

In the week commencing 7th November, Sophie had 6 engagements, compared with 17 for Princess Anne, and 16 for Camilla. The Duchess of Gloucester had 4 engagements and Princess Alexandra had 7 engagements.


For the record Sophie's engagements were:
7th November - attended Royal British Legion Festival of Remembrance
8th November - attended the Cenotaph on Remembrance Sunday
10th November - presented the Tomorrow’s People Awards for Achievement at Plaisterers’ Hall in the City of London
11th November - attended a Business Leaders Lunch, and afterwards held a meeting of Childine at Buckingham Palace, and in the evening attended a dinner at the Dorchester Hotel in Park Lane

In addition to the point about "quality" and not "quantity" of engagements, I wanted to point out that a week is just not a representative sample as work loads and the number of engagements carried out can vary substantially from week to week. I suspect that was a busy week for the DoC as she was on an official tour of Canada, and she usually undertakes fewer engagements in an average week.