Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh's life in pictures: How a middle-class girl with a normal job became royalty
Today she's one of the hardest working members of the British monarchy, but Sophie, the Duchess of Edinburgh wasn't born to be a royal.
In fact, she had a totally middle-class upbringing and didn't even cross paths with a member of the royal family until she was in her 20s.
But a chance second meeting and a royal romance landed Sophie a spot in the royal family portrait, and she even became one of Queen Elizabeth II's favourite in-laws before the monarch passed.
Keep reading to see how Sophie went from a PR professional with a normal nine-to-five, to a member of the monarchy.
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Born on January 20, 1965, Sophie's father was a sales director and her mother was a charity worker, so she had a pretty normal upbringing in Kent, England.
She and her older brother David grew up in a four-bedroom 17th-century farmhouse and Sophie was educated first at Dulwich Preparatory School, then at Kent College, and finally at West Kent College, where she trained as a secretary.
Pictured here at Ascot Charity Race Day in 1995, Sophie Rhys-Jones never dreamed she'd one day be a member of Britain's royal family and decided to pursue a very un-royal career after finishing her studies.
After leaving college, Sophie went into public relations and worked at major firms like Capital Radio, as well as PR companies like The Quentin Bell Organisation and MacLaurin Communications & Media.
Not content with a London office job, she explored career opportunities abroad as well, travelling to Switzerland where she worked as a ski representative, and even spending a year working and travelling in Australia.
By 1996, she'd established herself in the public relations industry and decided to start her own agency, RJH Public Relations, which she ran for five years with a business partner.
Sophie might have continued with it, if not for a chance meeting with her very own prince charming.
In 1987, Sophie caught the eye of Prince Edward, the youngest son of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, for the first time.
Back then she was working at Capital Radio and he was dating one of her friends, so nothing came of it. That is, until the pair crossed paths again in 1993.
That time Sophie was working at a promotional photo shoot for his Summer Challenge charity fundraiser, and Edward was single. Sparks flew.
Soon after they were an item, but Edward worked hard to keep his new romance on the down-low at first.
Edward knew Sophie would be caught up in a media circus the moment their romance was made public, especially if the press knew how serious he was about her.
In December 1993 he wrote to British newspaper editors denying rumours that he planned to marry Sophie, a move that was practically unheard of from such a senior royal at the time.
Edward asked the media for privacy both for himself and for Sophie, who did her best to continue life as usual while also dating one of the most recognisable men in the country.
Royal author Ingrid Seward, who wrote Prince Edward, claimed the couple almost split when Edward got cold feet a year into their romance, after realising it was a serious relationship that could lead to marriage. Thankfully, they stayed together.
Edward finally popped the question in December 1998, while he and Sophie were holidaying in the Bahamas, and announced their engagement on January 6, 1999.
It's believed that Queen Elizabeth II was already very fond of Sophie, so she was more than happy to give Edward permission to marry her.
Their engagement announcement took place on grounds of St. James's Palace, where reporters got their first glimpse of Sophie's stunning 18-carat white gold engagement ring.
The sparkling Garrard & Co piece featured a two-carat oval diamond flanked by two heart-shaped gemstones and reportedly cost Edward £105,000 (approx. $200,000 AUD).
Unfortunately, the couple faced their first royal scandal before they even said "I do".
Kara Noble, one of Sophie's former friends and work colleagues, sold photos of the bride-to-be sunbaking topless during a work trip to UK tabloid The Sun. Sophie was devastated.
Buckingham Palace reacted to the scandal swiftly, calling the sale of the photos "premeditated cruelty" and making a formal complaint to the Press Complaints Commission.
The Sun editor at the time, David Yelland, issued an apology. He said: "We clearly upset Miss Rhys-Jones. I have therefore decided to apologise to her and to the Palace."
Noble was subsequently sacked from her position as co-host of Heart 106.2's breakfast show.
Sophie's wedding dress was a silk organza number designed by Samantha Keswick and decorated with 325,000 crystals and pearls, which paired beatifully with the Anthemion tiara, which she wore atop her veil.
The tiara was loaned to the bride by the Queen, who took it out of her own private collection for Sophie to wear on her big day.
The only other jewellery she wore was a black and white pearl necklace and matching set of earrings Edward gifted her for their wedding.
After saying "I do", the PR professional - who gave up her job to marry Edward - became Sophie, Countess of Wessex.
It was time to leave her 'normal' life behind.
The royal newlyweds honeymooned at Balmoral Castle, then kicked off married life by moving in together at Bagshot Park, a quaint royal residence in Surrey.
Sophie then immediately started accompanying her husband on royal engagements and even took up duties of her own, as befitted a royal lady of her status. Still, it took her a while to find her feet as a royal.
"The frustration was I had to reduce my expectations of what I could actually do. I couldn't turn up at a charity and go, right, I think you should be doing this, because that's what I was used to doing in my working life," she told The Sunday Times in the 2000s.
"I had to take a really big step back and go, OK, they want you to be the icing on the cake, the person to come in to thank their volunteers and funders, not necessarily to tell them how to run their communications plan."
In April 2001, Sophie was secretly recorded by News of the World journalist Mazher Dorchester, who as an Arab sheikh, discussing members of the royal family.
She was the victim of media entrapment and was enticed by Dorchester to comment on Queen Elizabeth and several British politicians.
Buckingham Palace slammed the actions of the journalist and publication and denied claims Sophie had insulted the Queen or any other royals.
"The Countess of Wessex, who is trying to pursue her own career, is obviously vulnerable to set-ups such as this," the palace said in a statement, calling the printed comments "selective, distorted and in several cases, flatly untrue".
But the scandal had far-reaching repercussions and led Sophie and Edward to resign from their business interests to become full-time working royals.
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