click here to see the photo and video at The News

 Sophie, the Countess of Wessex, christened the HMS Daring, the Royal Navy’s newest warship, in Portsmouth today. Even though the weather was grey and cloudy, many people came out to celebrate the ship’s christening, and to hear the Countess speak.

The countess is the patron of the ship, and was present when the ship first launched in 2006, according to The News of Portsmouth. “It is an enormous pleasure to be here with our ship proudly wearing the White Ensign and the Union Jack in her home port. She is a testament to those who designed and built her and she will be an inspiration to all the men and women of the Royal Navy called to serve on board”.

It was also a special celebration for the youngest member of the Daring’s crew. Able Seaman Daniel Small cut a cake with the countess in honor of his 17th birthday. He told reporters that, “it’s quite an honor to be at the center of a ceremony like this”.

Now that the flags have been raised, and the commissioning pennant has been broken, the HMS Daring is now officially part of the royal fleet, and is eligible for deployment. The HMS Daring will now be preparing for exercises with aircraft carriers and amphibious task groups.

To read about, and to discuss the Countess of Wessex, please visit this thread.

sgl British Royals Countess of Wessex, Patronage, Royal Navy

Click here to view the article from the Daily Mail

RJ-H PR was founded in 1997 by Sophie Rhys-Jones, now the Countess of Wessex and wife of Prince Edward, the youngest son of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, and Murray Harkin. For the past eight years, RJ-H PR has been dealing with its share of negative publicity. This started when the Countess of Wessex was recorded by Mazher Mahmood, who is known as the “Fake Sheik”, making less-than-polite remarks about William Hague, saying that his face was “all-wrong”, and Cherie Blair, about whom she said was “worse than her husband”.

Shortly after the unfortunate incident with the Fake Sheik, the Countess was accused of using her royal connections to advance her business interests. After these incidents, the Countess publicly stated that she would end her connection to the public relations firm; however, it has now been revealed by the Daily Mail that the Countess continued to stay involved in the firm. She treated RJ-H PR as if it were “her baby”, and was not prepared to fully leave the company, according to the Daily Mail. Read more…

sgl British Royals Countess of Wessex, Finances, Scandal

Click here to see the photo from Kent News

 Despite the threat of rains, the annual Kent County Show opened today. The event was even more exciting this year, due to the visit from royalty. The Earl and Countess of Wessex arrived at the showgrounds at 10:00 this morning, where they were greeted by farmers and royal fans. The Wessexes were welcomed by George Jessel, the Deputy Lieutenant and Chair of the Kent County Agricultural Society.

According to a report from Kent Online, Mr. Jessel gave the royal visitors a tour of the Kent Showgrounds. They also met with farmers and handed out awards for long-time service in farming to Hazel Spicer, Adrian Smith, John Roberts, and Gil Applin. The Wessexes were then treated to a Young Farmers club livestock show, and the Why Kent Farming Matters display area, according to Kent News. The Young Farmers club show at Kent is the largest Young Farmers show in all of Europe.

The Kent County show runs from July 17-19. For more information about the show, please visit this website.

To read about, and to discuss, the Earl and Countess of Wessex, please visit this this thread.

sgl British Royals Agriculture, Countess of Wessex, Earl of Wessex

click here to see the photos from the Isle of Wight County Press

 Sophie, the Countess of Wessex, visited the Isle of Wight on Thursday. She met with ambulance operators and volunteers, who provide first-aid support for the island’s residents. Young volunteers, who are known as Badgers and Cadets, demonstrated their knowledge of first-aid, radio and computer skills for the Countess.

The Countess serves as Grand President of St. John’s Ambulance. The charity has centers all over the island, but only two ambulances currently serve the population, and the residents are hoping to be able to buy another ambulance. The chairman of St. John’s, Major Randall Cross, told the Isle of Wight County Press that “one of the ambulances needs to retire”.

Sophie also met with the county president, and the deputy county medical officer. She gave her support of the appeal to purchase a new ambulance. The islanders have already raised some of the money needed to make this goal a reality.

In addition to meeting with the Ambulance Council, the Countess of Wessex also met with students from St. Catherine’s school. She ate lunch at the school, and was presented with a lovely floral bouquet by an 8 year-old student.

For more information about the St. John’s Ambulance Badgers and Cadets, please visit this website.

To read about, and to discuss the Countess of Wessex, please visit this thread.

sgl British Royals Countess of Wessex, Education, Isle of Wight, Official Visit

Click here to see the photos at the Guernsey Press

 During day 2 of their visit to Guernsey, the Earl and Countess of Wessex spent time meeting and greeting the locals. They arrived to Sark by boat, and were taken to the top of the Harbour Hill where many residents and tourists eagerly awaited their arrival.

Franny Currie, a 14 year-old visitor from Oxford, had the chance to speak with Edward. “I was very excited. I’ve never met a member of the royal family before. I didn’t expect him to speak to me”, she told the Guernsey Press.

After their visit to Harbour Hill, the Earl and Countess of Wessex visited with year 6 pupils from St. Andrew’s School, who were practicing a camping exercise. Claire Corbet, a teacher at the school, told the Guernsey Press that, “We abandoned our orienteering exercise to come here and see them”. The Earl charmingly asked the group, “Did you lose anyone?”.

The Countess was given flowers by six year-old Eden Latter. She was also treated to a performance of “Romeo and Juliet” by 5 and 6 year-old children who acted out the play by using puppets and sets they constructed out of shoe boxes.

To read about, and to discuss the Earl and Countess of Wessex, please visit this thread.

sgl British Royals Countess of Wessex, Earl of Wessex, Education, Guernsey, Official Visit

Click here to see the photos from the Guernsey Press.

 Le Viaer Marchi, which translates as “the old market”, is an annual event on the island of Guernsey. It has been held for the past 30 years, but this year was a special year, as the event welcomed royal visitors, the Earl and Countess of Wessex.

The Earl and Countess spent an evening at the fair, where they learned about traditional arts and crafts, and enjoyed the local cuisine. Earlier in the day, the Wessexes kicked off their Guernsey visit by participating in the official opening of Le Murier and St. Sampson’s High schools, according to an article in the Guernsey Press.

The educational complex was completed in 2008, and is quite unique. Le Murier is a school for special-needs children aged 11-16. It can accommodate 130 students, and is able to serve the needs of students with learning disabilities. This school shares the complex and many facilities with St. Sampson’s High School, which is a traditional high school. The goals of the complex’s educators are to break down stereotypes regarding disability, and to be able to share ideas among teachers and students.

When the Wessexes arrived, they were greeted by the students and teachers. The Earl of Wessex joked with the crowd, encouraging them to “cheer as if this was the most exciting thing they have ever seen”. The head of Le Murier, Alan Brown said that the Countess, “…was good at engaging with the children, so she put them at ease”.

After visiting the educational complex, the Earl and Countess visited the Priaulx Library, and Candie Gardens, where they greeted many of the island’s residents.

For more information about Guernsey, please visit this website.

For more information about Le Murier and St. Sampson’s, please visit this website.

To read about, and to discuss the Earl and Countess of Wessex, please visit this thread.

sgl British Royals Countess of Wessex, Earl of Wessex, Education, Guernsey, Official Visit, Prince Edward

From the TRF avatar collection

 Documents have been released that show that Sophie Rhys-Jones, the Countess of Wessex, has paid only £5000 of the £1.7 million owed to creditors by her former public relations firm, according to a recent report in The Sun.

Liquidators will officially close R-JH Public Relations by the end of this month. The firm owed £30,000 to HM Revenue and Customs, which will be written off. All outstanding debts will be written off and the firm, which was established in 1997 will be closed.

Understandably, many of the small business owners who were owed money by the PR firm are very upset that they will never be able to collect. Joe O’Dwyer, whose office supply company was owed £958, told The Sun that “they were always late paying bills. It’s a disgrace that so little money was paid out to creditors”. Another creditor put it more bluntly when he said that “there is a tendency to go all misty-eyed because you’re dealing with royalty and believe that makes a client different-but clearly you have to be hard nosed and business-like”.

In 2001, the Countess was accused of using her royal connections to gain lucrative contracts. After this news broke, the Countess kept a lower profile in the firm.

To read about, and to discuss the Countess of Wessex, please visit this thread.

sgl British Royals Countess of Wessex, Finances

 On the 6th January 1999 the long awaited engagement between Prince Edward and Miss Sophie Rhys Jones was finally announced. image The couple were presented to the press at St. James’s Palace gardens that day. Sophie’s diamond ring was one of the most expensive engagements rings ever in the British royal family. image

The wedding took place at 5pm on Saturday 19th June 1999 in St George’s Chapel Windsor followed by a reception in the State Apartments at Windsor Castle. Due to the lateness of the wedding, the couple asked the guests to wear long dresses without hats. The Queen who is rarely seen without a hat at a function chose a lilac feather headpiece and some other senior figure such as the Princess Royal and the Duchess of Kent also added a small headdress. image The Queen Mother was the only royal to break the dress code by wearing a hat but considering her age it was appropriate. image The couple had wanted a more private family wedding compared to those of Edward’s siblings. There was a very limited number of foriegn royals invited and only a short carriage ride through Windsor without any balcony appearance that become the norm. This was what the couple wanted and reflected their more relaxed and private lifestyle.

Sophie Rhys-Jones chose the little known designer Samantha Shaw to create her wedding dress. Coincidently Samantha was married only a few weeks before and Sophie had attended the nuptials. Press examined in detail Shaw’s own wedding dress to gather hints about Sophie’s dress and there were a few similarities in the style. Sophie wore a simple medieval style dress-coat made of ivory silk and organza. image The coat had a deep v-neckline, bell shaped sleeves and a long train. image There was heavy detailing of rows of pearls and crystal bead around the neckline and sleeves of the coat as well as trimming the edge. Spotted over the dress were small pearls. An estimated 325,000 cut-glass and pearl beads were sewn onto the coat. image Although there are no pictures, there was a simple plain dress under the coat for the evening party. She wore court shoes by Gina and carried a bouquet of blown ivory garden roses, scented stephanotis, lily of the valley and freesia. image The bride had lost a lot of weight between her final dress fitting and the actual day which did result in a lot of gapping around the neckline. Read more…

PrincessofEurope British Royals Countess of Wessex, Earl of Wessex, Fashion, Prince Edward, Wedding Anniversary

Click here to see the photo from the Hounslow Chronicle

 Sophie Rhys-Jones, the Countess of Wessex, will visit the Isle of Wight in early July, according to an article in the County Press Online. Her visit will be short, but very busy.

The Countess will visit St. Catherine’s school, where she will meet students who are in the speech therapy, learning, and training sessions offered by the school. She will also have the opportunity to see and learn about the innovations that St. Catherine’s has made in the field of speech-communication therapy.

She will then head to Haseley Manor, where she will observe the cadet and badger training for the St. John Ambulance volunteers. Her day will end with a tea, where she will be the guest of honor.

In the meantime, the Countess of Wessex attended the Craft Guild of Chefs Awards, where she presented the award to the winner. The event, which is known as the “catering world’s Oscars”, according to the Hounslow Chronicle, featured 60 of the UK’s best cooks. The winner, Sam Rowles of Hounslow, was delighted not only with the award, but also with the opportunity to meet the Countess.

To read about, and to discuss the Countess of Wessex, please visit the Forum.

sgl British Royals Awards, Countess of Wessex, Education, Official Visit

Click on the photo to see more from the Edmonton Journal

During the past two days, Sophie Rhys-Jones, who is better known as the Countess of Wessex, has been very busy. She has participated in ceremonies honoring police and the military. Her whirlwind schedule continued today as she participated in church services at Holy Trinity Anglican Church, according to an article in the Edmonton Journal. The Countess read from the Book of Isaiah during the Sunday morning service.

Shortly before the church service, the Countess inspected the South Alberta Light Horse Regiment. She is the colonel-in-chief of this regiment. After the inspection, the regiment joined the Loyal Edmonton Regiment Band in a parade near the church.

The Countess attracted many royal watchers and well-wishers who came to see her while on the royal visit. Shelly Kellam, a Canadian royal watcher, told the newspaper that she came to the event just to see what the Countess was wearing. She enthusiastically stated that, “She was great”.

Click on the photo to see more from inews880.com

After the church services, Sophie spent time greeting the children from Holy Trinity’s Sunday School. The children presented her with gifts of flowers and cards. The Countess took the time to take photos with the children, who were undoubtedly delighted by the opportunity to meet a real-life royal, according to an interview with some of the children by inews880.com.

The Countess spent the rest of the day meeting with the soldiers from her regiment and their families in honor of Regimental Family Day.

To read more about the Earl and Countess of Wessex, please visit the forum.

sgl British Royals Canada, Countess of Wessex, Official Visit