Sophie Wessex joins royals on Buckingham Palace balcony

Beloved working members of the Royal Family the Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh undertake plenty of roles for the Firm, however, a new documentary now reveals that this may not have always been the case.

The late Queen Elizabeth II reportedly made a one-off payment to Edward and Sophie in order to entice them to become full-time working members of the Royal Family and quit their business careers.

They were supposedly paid £250,000 in 2002.

The Duchess, born Sophie Helen Rhys-Jones, was educated at Dulwich College Preparatory School, Kent College School for Girls, Pembury, and West Kent College.

Following her time at school, Sophie embarked on a career in public relations.

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During this time of her life, she worked for a variety of firms.

She went on to open her own PR agency, something which she co-ran for five years.

Now, royal experts have claimed in a fresh Channel 5 documentary that the late Queen enticed her to quit her career in order to become a full-time working royal.

Speaking on the programme ‘Prince Edward: Will He Change the Royals?’, journalist Emily Andrews explained: “The Queen effectively asked Edward and Sophie to give up their careers and become full-time working royals.

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“As an effective sweetener, she gave them £250,000 in compensation.”

The expert added: “There are parallels between Sophie and Edward and Harry and Meghan.

“I mean Sophie and Edward were the forerunners of trying to balance their royal career with actual money-making careers.”

After the revelation, former BBC royal correspondent Jennie Bond explained why she believed the late Queen’s plot paid off.

She told OK!: “Whether it was compensation, a sweetener or an incentive – the fact of the matter is that the Queen always provided financial support to the younger working Royals.

“They were not on what was then called the civil list, now the sovereign grant, so, if Edward and Sophie had to give up their careers, clearly they needed some way of financing the work they were going to do for the Royal family.

“So to me, it makes perfect sense. At the time, Sophie and Edward were seen as very junior members of the Royal Family, and it’s quite understandable that they wanted to pursue their careers.”

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