When A Secretary Married A Prince | Prince Edward & Sophie Rhys-Jones | Real Royalty

In January 1999, Prince Edward announced his engagement to Sophie Rhys Jones. She will be the last royal bride of the century and the Millennium. She is often compared to Diana, Princess of Wales, who was 19 at her engagement in 1981. A shy kindergarten attendant. Diana had little experience. advertising or the family that Sophie, 34, would join, things are different, she has completed a five-year apprenticeship in the family business. Dianna's marriage seemed like a brilliant fairy tale, but it ended in divorce and tragedy. Sophie will avoid Diana's mistakes, for the best. Sophie. What she can do for herself is establish her own identity and step out of Diana's shadow.

Sophie has already taken the initiative to deal with speculation about her personal life, contrary to popular opinion. We have never lived together and I have never given any ultimatums. Edwards' delay. by making Sophie his girlfriend had caused rumors of a separation, he had Charles and Diana's divorce, he had Fergie and Andrews' divorce and he had Diana's sad death, if he

married

Sophie at any time in the last few years, it would mean as the good news the royal family desperately needed he didn't want it to be too much pressure Eduardo wanted Sophie to have a slower, more fluid pace in royal life than Diana or Fergie the Duchess of York at first worried the media would ruin their relationship with this very special girlfriend to protect Sophie from the intrusion of the press, he took the unusual step of making a direct appeal to newspaper editors, the press was harassing her, it certainly was harassing her and Edward sent a fax from the Palace of Buckingham asking them to fire her.

I don't think she was afraid of losing. I'm pretty sure that wouldn't happen. I think he's just genuinely concerned about that kind of behavior and didn't see that he didn't think it was fair, especially since they weren't even engaged Edwards' affair was revealed in December 1993 after Diana temporarily retired from public life in this speech blamed the media for his problems

when

I started my public life 12 years ago I understood that the media might be interested in what I did. I

real

ized then that her attention would inevitably focus on both our private and public lives, but I was not aware of how overwhelming that attention would become as the estranged wife of the Prince of Wales.

Diana's role with the media and with the royal family was uncertain, but with the public she initially remained the biggest star of royal theater. Sophie recklessly chose styles reminiscent of Diana's, but never achieved the same charismatic effect. In 1994 Sophie joined Edward and his family for the wedding of Princess Margaret's daughter, Sarah Armstrong-Jones, hoping Sarah, the royal family, attracted applause from the crowd, but knew that Diana's presence would overshadow the bride. I think it was a very difficult time for the Princess of Wales, she knew that people looked at her for the right reasons and for the wrong reasons and in a sense at weddings in particular, anything she did could be interpreted however you want to see it.

If she is late, people would say oh, she wants to steal the bride's thunder, she came early, people would stay where she wants to steal the bride's honor. thunder I think she was in an almost untenable position because it is true that wherever she went and however the camera went, people couldn't take their eyes off her. Diana wanted the attention to focus on the bride and her attendants, including Princess Anne. The daughter of Zara, Queen Sarah's only niece, had been one of Diana's friends in the royal family and did not wish to ruin her big day, but Diana and her doppelgänger Sophie were sure to attract comments.

If Sophie is smart, she will absorb what happened to Diana. and designed her own look, Diana decided towards the end that a clean, simple and elegant line was best for her. She certainly photographed her very well, but you know better than to look like she's copying Diana too because that would be disastrous for Sara. The wedding was Sophie's first royal event, although she had often joined Edwards firmly in the church, a privilege her predecessors had not granted. Diana became very interested in Sophie's royal progress. Her self-sufficiency allowed her to cope with the pressure. A public relations executive.

She could easily deal with the questions. about the stories in the newspapers this morning Sophie's work especially for a London radio station had meant frequent contact with the media somehow she balanced the double role I think all the students are coping brilliantly with all the attention I mean , she is a public relations woman, so she knows exactly I think the right distance to keep with people, which is important, she has shown immense professional dignity, immense professional determination and I think she has a calm charm and attractive enough that it is now yours. I mean, she seems to have found herself and found her confidence and she seems comfortable with everything, she knows where her place is now, she's there and she's happy about it.

Sophie grew up in Brenchley, a quiet village in rural Kent, and she seemed prepared for a typical middle-class life. She and her brother David lived in a more comfortable house than The security and stability of the ostentatious home were key values ​​for her parents Christopher and Mary Rhys Jones. Well, I would call her country her middle class. Her parents are not rich, but they believe that education is a better indicator of class than money, so they were prepared to spend the money. money they had and have on a good education for Sophie she went to a private school in Kent she had a middle class education in a village she got eight levels Oh at school, but Sophie was not an exceptional student in a class that included a future Olympic swimmer Sophie was a good mixer she liked theater and sport a preview of the interest she would share with her

prince

in 1977, the year of the queen's silver jubilee Sophie played netball at her school she grew up to be an attractive young woman no shortage of male admirers she is an extremely popular girl she is a sport she is a great sport she will participate in any type of game very fun she loves to go outdoors once on a radio trip to the capital a guy named Marino Franchi She was no one at that time broke broke into her room, broke into the room she shared with another girl and stole a pair of panties and that night at a concert they appeared on stage addressed and undressed until security noticed They were wearing their panties and started screaming dirty, blah, blah.

Blah and ran all the way back to the hotel, but found it very funny compared to Fergie's excesses. Stories like this seem tame. Sophie avoided royal scandals after her university exams. She worked in London and then in Switzerland as a ski representative. She later accompanied a boyfriend to her house. A native of Australia,

when

they broke up, she dated Australian Yann Balmain for several months. She is 34 years old. She's been around the block. She's had a couple of affairs, just a couple of serious love affairs. The Australian ski instructor was the most serious. I think she followed him to Australia. but then it got cold often when you fall in love and the snow slides in, turns out yes, a bit damp when you get home and a guy called Ian Bell stopped another Australian he took on yacht trips with.

I don't know how close that relationship was, but he came to England with her and offered to sell the story to one of the Sunders, he probably has the news of the world, but something made him change his mind, I'm not quite sure what. and he never said a bad word about her after working briefly in Australia. Sophie traveled with Ian and his friends visiting tourist areas such as the Blue Mountain and the Great Barrier Reef. She loved deep sea diving and sailing. However, in 1991 this life in Dilek came to an end. I think she was hoping to get

married

and settle down with Ozzy and when everything went a little wrong she started getting homesick.

English girls want to go back to more sophisticated people if we put it that way and she did it right away and she went to work. Brian Maclaurin, where she

real

ly honed her skills and her popularity was fantastic. He is pop, very popular with all customers. Her public relations brought her into contact with the harsh side of the media. She learned to please both the cameras and the client. Sophie was an expert. in people and events organizing in 1993, her boss Brian McLaren asked her to promote Prince Edward's summer challenge run through the Duke of Edinburgh's Award scheme it was a complete accident every girl's dream how to meet a

prince

completely By chance, Sophie stood in for a celebrity who had had to pull out of a photo shoot with Edward at the last minute.

She was. Edward liked what he saw and happily posed for photos with Sophie. Later, she started her own public relations company in London's Mayfair. She is an independent and accomplished young woman, but it was her connection to Edward that made her famous. Hello magazine certainly wouldn't have published the story of her, Uncle Sophie if she hadn't been involved with Prince Edward. It just so happened that there was a gap in the royal ranks for a young, attractive woman and Sophie filled it, you know, Diana has disappeared now, more and more like a solo royal Diana became a global icon, she became an international celebrity destined for the whole world, for here in Washington in 1990, when Diana's royal role was changing, she found a new rival, one who could look stunning.

Like Thomas Dashefsky's Sophie's dress, it had some resemblance to Victor Edelstein's Diana's red dress, so if her necklines and hairstyles were noticeable, she was nicknamed the new Diana, there is absolutely no danger that Sophie is a new Diana for many people in Australia and the United States. He seems to think it is because she has filled the void Diana left, but there is simply no comparison between the two. Sophie is shorter, she doesn't have the wonderful peach complexion that Diana had, she has quite a few freckles, she is much simpler. The natural outdoorsy girl doesn't wear much makeup, surprisingly for someone in her position, and she has a fairly short torso, so she doesn't show off clothes as well as Diana.

She needs to dress more carefully. Diana was arguably at her most glamorous. Last year, as here in Argentina in 1995, she was ambivalent about her style rival Sophie, sometimes worrying about her prospects in the royal family, but mostly she mocked the imitation of her. She's done too many things that I know used to irritate Diana. She cut her hair like Diana's. She even went to lose weight and stay in shape at the Chelsea Harbor Club, which was Diana's, you know, the famous gym that she did, you know, she picked out dresses, the red dresses that were almost identical to things that died in a war. , the jacket and pants that Diana was wearing. she just seemed to be imitating Diana and Diana was partly amused and partly irritated by that, she must say her here comes my double's appearance.

I mean, even the designer she likes, Thomas Starsky, used to design for Diana, she really should have her own look. and there are many things she could do, she could dress in softer and less tailored clothes just to find her own style and I think she even thinks she can outsmart the media that way. Diana tried to get it right, believe me, they can't. Diana was never vilified like Fergie for her occasional fashion blunders. She is remembered for the unique charm of her and the incomparable magnetism of her. Sophie may never be described as a style-free zone like Fergie, but not everyone approved of her engagement outfit.

The engagement dress she was wearing seemed something special to me. you put on at six in the evening, not 11 in the morning, partly because she had sparkly beads everywhere and that cocktail smell is not a morning commitment. The other problem with that outfit was that it was gray and Standing next to a prince in a dark suit didn't exactly make them look like a colorful pair. If she had been as smart as I think she was, she would have worn something more colorful, a pastel, you know, this spring, we're told. those lilac, blue and pink of the big colors of spring, she seemed to ignore all that and was wearing grey, which is a color that was in fashion two years ago, so you know, I think Sophie needs to study the pages of fashion and glasses.

With more care, Sophie can take on the royal appointment she has already experienced through her promotional work with the Macmillan Cancer Relief Fund and other charities. Behind-the-scenes care has ensured that she already looks and talks like a born royal. I think they made it very fun. Debra Lee X Rolling Stone Bill Wyman and his family helped Sofie promote a children's fashion show for the Baby Lifeline charity. Any smart royal who gets involved with the baby charity is doing themselves a world of good because it's a lot harder to meet disabled people. people with mental disabilities in a newspaper or on television is simply a fact of life, it is not politicallyright, but it turns out to be a fact, so you know that Diana really became world famous for hugging attractive little boys, so I think you know Sofie.

You know, she's a PR girl, she knows how the world works and I'm not saying her motives are purely to exploit that side of the baby charity, but it certainly hasn't done her any harm to mingle with celebrities. As part of Sophie's job, she has many friends from show business, as does Diana, but Sophie's predecessor had qualities that were so unique that they can never be copied. The disabled or disadvantaged found remarkable empathy in Diana and ordinary children everywhere were drawn to her boundless affection, but such charisma had its drawbacks. Diana could hardly go anywhere without a multitude of cameramen recording each of her. her movements tragically this media obsession contributed to her death now Sophie must find a way to cope with her own celebrity status it seems these will be repeated frequently now that she is the new royal star Sophie would look to Prince Edward for guidance and support In the early, difficult years ahead Sophie is no stranger to palaces, she is a regular guest at Windsor Castle and all the other royal residences where the Queen rode at Windsor.

Sophie took an instant liking to this friendly, down-to-earth girl and gave her unprecedented access to the royal homes. She stayed many times at Buckingham Palace. She has her room in Edwards' apartment. He has her room exactly where they sleep. It's something. I really don't know, it would be a shame after being together for five years if they had never done the deed to the royal family. Sophie is Diana without the dramas and Fergie without the frivolities, but what does she think of her future in-laws? I think Sophie has had a lot of time to decide what she doesn't like about the royal family. we're talking about in five and six years of life, Diana had a much quicker introduction to the royal family, the engagement and marriage were done and dusted in a relatively short time, so she learned about life as she grew up and he was also, of course, much younger than Sophie when he married Diana.

She was eighteen or nineteen years old, she was not a particularly formed personality at that time. Sophie is over 30 and if she doesn't know what she likes and what she doesn't like about the royal family now, then she will never come back. I'll meet as Sophie's future mother-in-law, the Queen has effortlessly formed a close friendship with her son's wife and has told her friends as much. Sophie has made me smile again. The problems of the Royal Family have certainly brought Edward and Sophie together, they have spent several after all, years under the same roof they have experienced the strains of that and the enormous emotional turmoil of the royal family, a horrible time in the last 10 years for them, they've seen the damage, they've seen the pain, they've seen the kind of downsides of being real, which legion, I would have thought and I think they've both found something in each other, at least I hope they have, I am sure they will have it that will sustain them as a couple in the future.

The future Elizabeth had been queen for 12 years when Edward was born in 1964. There was now a mix of teenagers and young children in the palace. Carlos was 15 and 13 years old. Her brother Andrés was 4. This time the Queen devoted more time to her youngest children. She cherished her second family and adored her last child, whose childhood marked a period of great stability for the royal family. Her grandmother seemed an eternally warm and welcoming presence in her lives in Scotland. They interrupted her trip to greet her before spending their annual summer. holidays at Balmoral weekends away from boarding school there were walks in the grounds of Frogmore in Windsor one of several royal households Edward grew up in a very privileged environment that inevitably separated him from the real world you are the queen's youngest son, like many Edward, The youngest son was a spoiled privileged person, so he was always very prone when he was young to be quite arrogant and pompous.

I don't particularly blame him for that because I think he comes with the territory. I think people tend to lose sight of what they judge. members of the royal family for everyday life and they don't live in everyday life, they live a life where you have a, I mean, Edward still has a valet who brings him a biscuit at the six hotbar and a cup of tea in the tomorrow. I mean, that's how they live, they have babysitters until they're 70, it's a world we don't appreciate. Andrew and Edward, still a Gordon Stern School boy, acted as supporters when Charles married in 1981, the turbulence was anyone's guess.

What was coming, the royal family was unknowingly facing a private revolution within a few years. Their world, which seemed so safe, would collapse with devastating consequences in 1983, during their Commonwealth tour. Charles and Diana met Eduardo in New Zealand, where he spent a year teaching. going to Cambridge and the fun of student life when Andrew married in 1986 Edward had graduated and joined the Royal Marines Andrews' girlfriend Sarah Ferguson would bring drama and join the royal family and Edward would soon leave the Marines for a theatrical career. Don't know. I think that at one time he would have wanted to be a sailor, traditionally there is a tradition that princesses go to services and that is why he had to follow his brothers doing the same type of things and his father, it is something natural for the Royal family.

Do it, it's just a tradition. I'm sure he would have been much happier if he had become an actor and gone to Rada. He once told a journalist that she asked him if you would have a chance to become an actor and he said yes, I would like Charles. Edward had begun acting at school and continued as a student. The Cambridge reviews provided him with the comic roles he preferred. The costumes and excitement of the theater production took over the appeal of acting. The world of theatrical entertainment in general, it all comes from the way the royal family lived.

They are surrounded by people who dress up in fun costumes They like to dress up They like to play party games where you dress up and act It's one of the traditions of family holidays at Sandringham Balmoral The royal family are heroes and heroines They are movie people, but you know, they say a star is surprised when DiCaprio or Michael Caine comes along and you know they really have no one else to look up to, so there really are, I think that's partly, partly, but I think he's just artistic like some people aren't some people aren't in 1987 Andrew and Fergie participated in a game show Royal knock out in costumes hosted by Edward the day he was filming it's a knockout it was a horrible day The weather was bad, the media communication were soaked in the rain all day, so at the end of the day, when he came to a press conference with everyone and said, don't you think that was wonderful?

Me too, well, no, actually we didn't. Not much, they'd barely had access, they certainly weren't allowed to take pictures because Edward had made an exclusive deal and everyone was completely fed up. I just hope you enjoyed it, okay? Thanks for Sounding so fucking enthusiastic, what have you been doing here all day? Have you been watching it? He took it as a terrible personal criticism and I remember one journalist put forward the story that she flew out of the press conference like a dancer with a ladder on the floor. tights and I just wasn't prepared to see the other side of the story, you couldn't see that these huge, wet, huddled reporters and photographers were, you know, completely fed up and wanted to go home.

Édouard began working for the composer Andrew Lloyd Webber in a London theater on the first day the press waited for Edward Windsor, as he now called himself on cue, the prince jokingly indicated his humble role as production assistant by charging tea bags Edward later left the theater and formed his own television company, Ardent Productions, while he moved away. In theater circles gossip about his private life became a source of annoyance, in fact, it all started when Edwards said I'm not gay and with the classic journalistic trick, the headline on the cover was Edwards says I'm not gay, everyone had said it.

He had no idea if he was gay or not before saying he was and since then it has been open season on talking about his sexuality. I just think people should forget about it. He likes the company of homosexual people. He is possibly just as convinced of his own heterosexuality. It bothers him, he gets along very well with gays, he gets along very well with the world and with the whole theater scene, but Sophie was really upset that he went, a lot of people said he was gay and she told a close friend that He's definitely not gay, I can guarantee that.

That sir, from there, Edwards' main sporting interest is real tennis, a cross between lawn tennis and squash, which he took up after suffering too many injuries on the rugby field. He said that with Royal Tennis you could hit the ball as hard as possible and get back on course from the back wall, perfect for a Slugger like me, Royal Tennis had some majestic fans, notably King Henry the Eighth, but what about your romantic life? Princess Martha Louise of Norway was just one of Edward's girlfriends along the way, but perhaps she was a shared love of sport was going to be the deciding factor.

It was Sophie who finally won her heart in a real tennis match. She found that his confidence and professionalism helped her cope with the publicity surrounding her romance. I think when he was younger, him and the girls. Those involved found it particularly difficult to get press attention and that is why I think he and Sophie have done so well that, a little older and a little wiser, they have been able to reach agreements when necessary and got along quite well. with the public's attention. They've done very well in that sphere, it's hard to say whether being a PR girl helped Sophie become a princess or not, she certainly was quite clever and I think Edward appreciated that she knew the ins and outs, it wasn't like pulling a ordinary person.

Sophie was already familiar with the way the media works and in interviews she mentioned that she knows all its tricks, so in that sense she helped her and probably helped Edwards. The decommissioning of the Royal Yacht Britannia in November 1997 was a nostalgic moment. event for the Queen and the royal family Sophie presents that the emotional ceremony was another clue to her acceptance into the royal fold, she tries her best to fit in, so if he goes riding with the Queen, she really was quite a trip desperate and still not very good and said that she has an electric butt, which means that when she gets on a horse, it takes off at high speed, which of course the rest of the royals think is funny, but Sophie He tries and doesn't mind doing it. a bimbo with her hair out of place, her makeup crooked, it's very much in the tradition of what the Queen likes.

The royal family didn't like the way Diana always stole the show with her clothes and distracted attention at solemn events like VJ Day in 1994. I'm pretty sure the royal family considers Sophie a very good substitute of Diana because she is the type of substitute that suits them. She's not as prominent as Diana will ever be. She is not as beautiful as Diana. She is that kind of person. If they wish Diana had been a girl who knows her place and doesn't try to dazzle the rest of them, they will never have serious problems with Sophie. She's in this because the long-term royal reaction to Diana's death caused a crisis.

Sophie. She was absent from the royal group at her funeral. She may be close to the royal family, but she was obviously not considered part of a state event. The tragedy altered royal plans. I am convinced that the engagement would have been announced much sooner if he had not. There was, firstly, the divorce of Diana and Charles and then, a year later, Diana's funeral, which certainly meant that the royal family felt that it would have been unpleasant to rush to announce the happy news of an engagement that they would have felt that with all the bad publicity they had had, the public would have only suspected that they were trying to bury Diana metaphorically and physically and go ahead and try to say well, never mind about her, we have this other news to distract you now a year after After her death a memorial service was held for Diana there was criticism about the royals' slow reaction to Diana's death they now wanted to avoid controversy the Queen took her family, including Sophie, to the small Balmoral church where they had worshiped for Many years ago, in December 1992, following the divorce, Princess Anne had married her second husband, Commander Tim Lawrence, in Crotty.

That low-key ceremony was the last wedding of any of the queen's children before Edwards at Windsor. This summer, the queen is going to have, of course, an extraordinary experience at that wedding. She is going to look at her children and she is going to see two of them divorced, her two sons and she is going to see her daughter divorced and remarried andis going to be praying please God, make it work this time on the way to Diana's memorial service Princess Anne Edward and Sophie traveled with Prince William she was now a member of the family in all but name Sophie's ties to several Charities provided a passable introduction to the public life she might be taking on as older members of the royal family retire from public life, but Sophie's ordinary background will be enough to sustain her passage into royal circles.

There is only one other royal wife with a middle-class background. The Danish-born Duchess of Gloucester formally began as Evander's

secretary

since she married the queen's cousin. in 1972, where Geeta has integrated perfectly into her husband's family, today no one would suspect that she was not born in real life. If Sophie is as smart as I think she is, she'll probably be inspired by the Duchess of Gloucester, who doesn't give interviews. She has always kept a low profile she knows her place is nothing special and the ball is certainly not trying to look more glamorous or more attractive than the real Rowett ladies who are older than her I think it is very difficult to predict what Sophie Dutchess is from wherever she is from would be unlike this cute girl from the Home Counties we have at the moment sometimes putting a crown on someone does wonders sometimes it's a disaster and sometimes you barely notice, frankly I think it's very likely that Sophie is the duchess invisible with or without crown in 1996 Edward rented a park in Surrey for 50 years.

He and Sophie will turn it into his country house. The mansion located on 88 acres will also be the base for fiery productions. His television company. The house was originally built for Edwards' royal ancestor, the Duke of Connaught, Queen Victoria's favorite son, how different is the new owner and all the men. Members of the royal family are quite self-centered and arrogant, they cannot avoid it, but it's the way they were raised. I mean, if you grow up with people who bow to you and bow to you and respect you and you have a bodyguard and you're always different from your friends at school, how can you help it? but I know a little bit, you know, think that you are a little bit special somewhere because you are special, you are not ordinary, ordinary, that's why the wife of a man like that, the wife of a prince has to be taken into account and there is two paths you can take: you can deflate the inflated ego and prevent a prince from becoming too pompous and if he's some sort of reasonable man he won't care too much and the other route you can take is to be Totally Subordinate, you know, and I'd rather do what Camilla Parker-Boles has done with Prince Charles and being happy to just be a supporting player and support the man when he needs it.

I think with Sophie and Edward it's a much more equal partnership. I think Edward differs. He likes her a lot and depends on her a lot because she has had much more contact with the real world than he has. He is a privileged Prince and I think that is the big reason why this marriage will work. Every other royal marriage was a marriage. unequal, but this time I think they are much more equal. Edwards' wife will be the new focus of high society. I'm sure she will enjoy being the duchess who has always craved social status.

Friends who know her. I've been told this for many years, I don't mean it in a nasty way, I just think it's something he likes. I'm sure she'd have a lot of fun being a society hostess there, but I think she'd go crazy if she were one. she there she all the time she has worked until her mid-30s, she has a very successful career and I would be surprised if she wanted to leave it. This is very interesting, especially the question of whether Saffy and Edward are going to have kids, I mean, their biological clock is ticking so they have to start doing it pretty soon, but I get the feeling that he wants her to continue with her business because right now you are earning more than him.

Lady Helen Windsor was the last royal bride to marry at st. George's Chapel in July 1992, when her own marriage came under scrutiny. Diana joined the royal family in this return to an earlier tradition of private weddings. George's Chapel Windsor had once been the scene of royal weddings before the more public and lavish ceremonies became national events, with the breakdown of that marriage, the whole idea of ​​the royal family as a monument of national virtue like the Ark of the Family Values ​​Alliance was destroyed and I think what we are seeing and what I hope we are seeing with the marriage of Edward and Sophie is a retreat towards something more modest, something less pretentious, something more, if not a paradox , a sort of private royal family or at least one where family values ​​are not on display for her wedding to Tim Taylor Helen, the daughter of the Duke of Kent, the queen's cousin chose a very formal dress made of heavy silk with a majestic neckline, was created especially for Helen by Katherine Walker.

From Diana's favorite designers, the next bride to walk down these steps will be Sophie, what will she wear? Any wedding in the royal family is a solemn occasion, joyful and solemn, not boring, not too formal, but it is important, it is an important dress that has to match its surroundings and match the occasion in which, obviously, the world Present Sophie will want a dress that reflects her individuality. There was speculation that Thomas' Star Chef Key could win the coveted Commission. Thomas has spoken to many other couturiers and they have all been trying to ask. each other who is making the dress, I know he isn't and I know for a fact that a very close friend of Sophie's from her school days is actually making the dress.

Sophie will give them both a big boost, you know, this kind of big help to everyone. I think this reflects very well on Sophie, not only does she go for the big names, she will help people who have helped her in the past, but Sophie's engagement outfit was the work of star chef Sookie, who can also make Make part of your formal wardrobe yours. The stone and diamond engagement ring cost around fifty-five thousand pounds. She bought it from one of her company's clients, the royal jeweler Esprit and Gerard. I suspect the Queen will give him something and I suspect the Queen will also give her son something of hers to give him. so I imagine she will be given some really lovely pieces to wear on her wedding day.

I imagine she will probably be a necklace, earrings, tiara and we know that several people can give her different things, but I'm sure they will provide them to her. because there will be no Diana to upstage the bride and Sarah, Duchess of York, may not be invited, but memories will surely arise of her brilliant promises that turned to ashes ex-royal wives palpable reminders of failure The Queen began her reign by making a public vote on the day of the Iraq session that she would keep the monarchy as it was in the days of her father and grandfather and those model royal marriages were less public and it was a model family and these ex-wives these broken marriages are reminders for the Queen I think bitterly of our own failure and somewhere deep inside her, at least if she's like every mother I've ever known, including mine, she'll probably ultimately blame herself.

Christmas 1988, Diana and Fergie's days as royal wives of Windsor are long gone. but the traumas of those times still haunt the royal family, they know that the present has its roots in the past and the future in both, on the royal stage there is another character who can share the spotlight with the lifelong lover of Sophie Charles , Camilla Parker-Boles, shortly after Edwards. engagement Carlos attended a party at the Ritz in London after they left together amid a barrage of camera flashes. Charles had made Camilla his public partner Twitter Parker Bowles I think it must be the Queen's worst nightmare as a future Princess of Wales and of course the best possible hope if only Charles had gotten his first Camilla is the obvious Windsor why the women of Windsor in general are not clothes-horses, they are not beautiful, they are horses, they like headscarves and country activities have a certain, you know well, Camilla is the perfect wife of Windsor, none of Diana's nervousness or bad mood, but unfortunately, of course, she is the second helping and that is the difficulty.

Christmas 1998 and a less glamorous royal parade arrives at Sandringham Church. What lessons have they learned from the In the past it is difficult to say if the royal family learned from their mistakes in any sense, how could they? The problems they have had, all the problems the Queen's children have had, are very similar to the problems that so many other parents and children have had. This is a time of marriage breakdown, the problem for the royal family is different: if you continue in a time when a marriage is more likely to fail than to succeed, if you risk so much on the outcome of that marriage. entered into a kind of collective reverie, collective myth that eventually became collective nightmare, we all have lessons to learn, not just the royal family Before this summer ski holiday, Sophie said that she was fully aware of her future responsibilities and that She was ready to commit. to real life, but given the high failure rate of real marriages, do you have any questions?

Sophie has had five years to prepare for this, she knows the worst, she knows what life is going to be like, she knows the limitations that will be placed on her and obviously this is a deal she is willing to sign, she doesn't seem to care, I think she believes that the pros outweigh the cons, he loves on the inside and I think he also loves life, you know, the glamor of it all, I mean, I never could have done it. She would have gone to St Moritz for a luxury ski holiday if she weren't Prince Edward's fiancée and that is certainly a big part of her appeal.

I think any girl would be captivated by the brilliant score surrounding the royal prince Sophie. She will be the third lady on earth the rise of an ordinary girl to the highest ranks of the royal family is the last fairy tale of the millennium I hope this lasts if someone is going to get married I hope they think they are going to do it right and , like I said, I want to say that you know that we are the best friends and that is essential and it also helps us to love each other a lot and that's why it's great, we are very happy at the moment and for a long time, that can continue and I think that getting married It's something very personal.

I mean, naturally there will be more interest in us than in other people, but it's a personal matter and it's a family occasion.