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Birthday wishes are in order forSophie, Countess of Wessex!
The Countess of Wessex turned 58 on Friday, and worked right up until her birthday. On Thursday, she opened a new STEAM lab at Connaught Junior School in Bagshot and visited Heatherwood Hospital in Ascot. A testament to her work ethic, Sophie’slatest engagementswere her first of 2023 — following a record year for the royal.
Last March, Sophie was announced as the new Colonel-in-Chief of the Corps of the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers.Prince Edward’s wife inherited the role from her late father-in-law,Prince Philip, who held the honorary title for over 50 years. Embracing the patronage (one of 70on her roster), Sophielooked at home in camowhen she toured the Defence School of Electronic and Mechanical Engineering and School of Army Aeronautical Engineering a few months later.
Sophie, Countess of Wessex.The Royal Family/Twitter
The spring was a busy time for the royal family withQueen Elizabeth’s 96th birthday and record-breakingPlatinum Jubilee. In April, Sophie and Prince Edward, 58, traveled to some of the Commonwealth’s Caribbean countries for week-long tour to mark the Queen’s 70-year reign, but controversy bubbled up during the trip.
Astop in Grenadawas canceled at the last minute, and Gaston Browne, the Prime Minister of Antigua and Barbuda, told the royals that his country intended to become a republic in the future, though there were no immediate plans to do so. Browne also urged them to use their “diplomatic influence” to achieve “reparatory justice” for the island country.
Prince Edward and his wife Sophie.Stuart C. Wilson - Pool/Getty
Prince WilliamandKate Middletonalso experiencedsignificant backlashduring their tour of the Caribbean in March, as the rising tide of social and economic justice movements — including calls for slavery reparations and indigenous rights expansion — are rapidly reshaping contemporary views of the monarchy.
A few weeks later, Sophie had a key seat near the Queen during the “Gallop Through History” event of the Platinum Jubilee. The Queen was famously close with her youngest daughter-in-law, and the Countess of Wessex, Prince Edward and their children —Lady Louise Windsor, 18, andJames, Viscount Severn, 14 — supported the sovereign during the epic festivities that continued through June.
Chris Jackson/Getty
Queen Elizabeth’s death in September rocked the royal family, and a guest who attended herstate funeralat Westminster Abbey exclusively told PEOPLE that Sophie seemed to be a rock for her relatives at the emotional service.
“The Countess of Wessex was incredible. I saw her putting her arm around three or four people,” lawyer Pranav Bhanottold PEOPLEof what he saw. “It felt like she was really the glue keeping everyone quite strong today.”
“She really seemed to be the person keeping the family together,” Bhanot explained. “There were a few bishops who started crying when they saw the Queen and she was kind of comforting them, even though she is the direct family member.”
Karwai Tang/WireImage
After observing a formal period of mourning with the rest of the royal family, Sophie went straight back to work. In October, she became the first British royal to travel to theDemocratic Republic of the Congo. The visit focused on addressing the harrowing impact of sexual and gender-based violence in conflict, while supporting survivors. Sophie’s trip has been planned for “many months” and came ahead of the International Preventing Sexual Violence in Conflict Initiative Conference in London in November, which she also attended.
In December, Sophie and Edward had a glittering night out at theRoyal Variety Performanceat Royal Albert Hall in London, where they represented the royal family as the evening’s guests of honor for the first time.King Charles III, Prince William, Kate,Prince HarryandMeghan Marklehave all gone in the past, and the Earl and Countess of Wessex’s presence perhaps signaled the elevated royal role they might have in Charles' reign.
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The Royal Variety Performance fell amid King Charles’petitionto have his youngest brother and their sisterPrincess Annebecome Counsellors of State. These royal representatives can stand in for the monarch in official duties if he is abroad or unwell. The update came as current Counsellors of StatePrince HarryandPrince Andrewcannot be called upon, as they are no longer working members of the royal family.
Just a few days later, the Counsellors of State Bill receivedroyal assentin Parliament, making Edward and Anne Counsellors of State for Charles for life.
source: people.com
