Sophie Rhys-Jones, Countess of Wessex who is Queen Elizabeth's daughter-in-law, has stepped aside as chairman of her public relations company following the furore over her taped comments to a newspaper reporter disguised as an Arab sheikh. The News of the World today published a transcript of the conversation between the Countess and the phoney sheikh, in which she made disparaging remarks about British politicians.
The News of the World went to town today with ten pages of details of what Sophie Rhys-Jones told its undercover reporter. She said that Tony Blair was ignorant of the countryside, his wife Cherie was horrid, and the opposition leader William Hague talked like a puppet. Perhaps most damaging of all she seemed to trade on her royal status by highlighting the advantages of hiring her PR company. It proved too much for Sophie and Buckingham Palace. This afternoon she announced that she would be stepping down as chairman of the company she founded. In a statement the countess said that she much regretted her misjudgement in succumbing to subterfuge, and that she regretted any embarrassment, above all to the Queen. Buckingham Palace issued a statement saying that the Queen deplored the entrapment, subterfuge, innuendo and untruths to which the Earl and countess had been subjected.
The News of the World also exposed Sophie's business partner saying that he took cocaine and would arrange gay parties. This afternoon he resigned from the company. The countess herself said that she still hoped to continue in business. She is determined to carry on with her career, but Buckingham Palace said that a review of how working royals conduct themselves would now take place.
