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Sophie, Countess of Wessex, 55, married the Queen’s youngest son Prince Edward, 56, in 1999 and has since become a much-loved member of the British Royal Family. While former PR guru Sophie was a royal outsider before she tied the knot with Edward she comes from royal stock.

Sophie is the daughter of Christopher Bournes Rhys-Jones, a retired salesman, and the late Mary Rhys-Jones, who was a secretary.

She was born in Oxford and attended a private day school for girls after which she attended secretarial college.

She went on to co-found her own Public Relations company which she ran before becoming a full-time working royal in 2002.

She is the patron of more than 70 charities, many of which support young people and women.

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Sophie is said to be a favourite of the Queen and is praised for her no-fuss approach to royal duties.

She has been described by her son as the “Royal Family’s secret weapon” and may have praised how she has taken to royal life.

Royal biographer and expert Robert Jobson told the Telegraph: “She has scarcely put a foot wrong and has become one of the Queen’s trusted confidants.”

“She is probably the best example of an outsider coming into the family and learning on the job.”

Sophie’s royal ancestry explained

Sophie is distantly related to the Viscounts Molesworth through her paternal grandmother.

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.

Who was King Henry IV?

Henry IV, was King of England from 1399 to 1413.

He asserted the claim of his grandfather King Edward III, a maternal grandson of Philip IV of France, to the Kingdom of France.

Henry was the first English ruler since the Norman Conquest whose mother tongue was English rather than French.

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• Sophie Wessex heartbreak: Law means Lady Louise won’t inherit title

Sophie became known as the Countess of Wessex when she married Prince Edward.

Sophie and Edward live at the royal residence of Bagshot Park in Surrey.

The couple have two children – Lady Louise Windsor, 16, and James, Viscount Severn.

When Prince Philip, 98, dies Prince Edward is expected to inherit his Duke of Edinburgh title.

This means Sophie is the future Duchess of Edinburgh.

Sophie was expected to become the Duchess of Cambridge on her wedding day as the Queen usually bestows dukedoms on her sons when they marry.

However, Prince Edward is reported to have rejected the title and asked to go by Wessex instead as he admired the Wessex character in Shakespeare in Love.

Sophie and Prince Edward are the second youngest working royal couple after Prince William and Kate, Duchess of Cambridge.

They are understood to have stepped up royal duties in the wake of Meghan Markle and Prince Harry’s withdrawal.

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