Her godfather, actor Thane Bettany, was her father's stepbrother; both men spent their early life in Sarawak, North Borneo, then a British Protectorate ruled by the White Rajahs.

She began her education at Dulwich Preparatory School, before moving on to Kent College, Pembury, where she was friends with Sarah Sienesi, with whom she subsequently shared a flat in Fulham and who later became her lady-in-waiting.

[24] On the day of their marriage, Prince Edward was created a hereditary peer as Earl of Wessex with the subsidiary title of Viscount Severn (derived from the Welsh roots of his wife's family).

[28] Two years later, on 8 November 2003, she prematurely gave birth to her daughter, Lady Louise, resulting from a sudden placental abruption that placed both mother and child at risk, and the Countess had to undergo an emergency caesarean section at Frimley Park Hospital, while the Earl of Wessex rushed back from Mauritius.

[29] Sophie returned to Frimley Park Hospital on 17 December 2007, to give birth, again by caesarean section, to her son, James (then Viscount Severn, now Earl of Wessex).

Highlights of the tour included the 50th Anniversary Independence Day celebrations in Saint Lucia, a joint address from both houses of the Barbados Parliament and a visit to sites affected by the recent volcanic eruptions in Montserrat.

Sophie also made an appearance at an Armistice Day service at the Queen Elizabeth II September 11th Garden, which was opened in commemoration of the 67 British victims of the attack.

Sophie saw the work the charitable foundation has supported to tackle avoidable blindness and heard about programmes successfully launched by Queen's Young Leaders.

During the visit, which was requested by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, Sophie met victims and survivors of gender-based violence and promoted their rights by meeting the female political leaders in the country.

[65] In May 2023, Sophie visited Iraq at the request of the Foreign Office to promote the Women, Peace and Security agenda and raise awareness about conflict-related sexual violence.

[68] In October 2024, she became the first member of the royal family to visit Chad where she met with refugees who had fled to the country following the Sudanese civil war and had experienced sexual violence during the conflict.

[73] As a full-time member of the royal family, part of her focus became charities that dealt with communications difficulties, including Southampton General Hospital, and the New Haven Trust in Toronto, a learning centre for children with autism.

[79] She established the Women in Business Group in 2003 to support the Duke of Edinburgh's Award and reach more young people to help them develop skills that can transform their futures.

[93] During her 2013 trips to India, and Qatar, the Countess visited numerous facilities in her capacity as patron of Vision 2020: The Right to Sight and ambassador for IAPB, in order to raise awareness about preventable blindness.

[96] She has been the founder and chairman of the Duke of Edinburgh's Award Women's Network Forum since January 2014, whose goal is the advancement of gender balance and equality by influencing business leaders, inspiring the next generation and sharing best practice.

Elizabeth, accompanied by the couple, met key supporters, staff, volunteers and alumni from the charities of their patronage and presidency, as well as representatives from their various military appointments.

[112] The Ice Maiden, five British Army women, received royal patronage from the Countess for their ambitious coast-to-coast ski expedition across Antarctica in October 2017.

[119] On 25 April 2019, it was announced that the Countess, along with her husband and her brother-in-law, the Duke of York, have each been appointed vice president of the annual Royal Windsor Horse Show.

[121] In April 2020, the Countess helped Rhubarb, a catering company, in preparing and delivering food to NHS staff amidst the coronavirus pandemic, an initiative organised by Ian Wace.

[129] In December 2022, Sophie was honoured at the Georgetown Institute for Women, Peace and Security, where she received the Hillary Rodham Clinton Award for her work concerning sexual violence in war zones.

"[137] She has also been noted for her long-term work on "gritty" subject matters such as gender-based violence in conflict, and trips to "difficult areas", such as South Sudan and Sierra Leone.

[149] In May 1999, less than a month before her wedding, The Sun published a photo of a topless Sophie with her Capital Radio colleague Chris Tarrant, which was taken during a business trip to Spain in 1988.

[154] In 2011, close associates of Jonathan Rees, a private investigator connected to the News International phone hacking scandal, stated that he had penetrated Sophie and Edward's bank accounts and sold details about them to the Sunday Mirror.

[156] In April 2001, Sophie appeared in the media after she was misled in a meeting at the Dorchester by a News of the World reporter posing as an Arab sheikh, Mazher Mahmood,[157][158] who was later exposed for perjury in Southwark Crown Court.

[159] It was claimed by the newspapers that during their "secretly taped" conversation, the Countess had insulted the royal family and politicians, calling the Queen "old dear" and criticising the leadership of prime ministers John Major and Tony Blair and Chancellor of the Exchequer Gordon Brown.

[157] The News of the World attributed the negative reactions to the jealousy of the rival media, as the outlet had previously conducted an interview with Sophie in which she addressed the rumours about her difficulties in marriage and discussed her husband's sexuality.

[161] Subsequently, in 2002, both the Earl and Countess announced that they would quit their business interests in order to focus on activities and official engagements on behalf of the royal family and aid the Queen in her Golden Jubilee year.

[164] The Countess of Wessex was criticised for accepting two sets of jewels from the royal family of Bahrain during an official day-long[165] visit to the country in December 2011, as she and her husband returned to the UK from a trip to Afghanistan.

Her husband, the Earl, received a pen and a watch as well as a silk rug from the Crown Prince of Bahrain, Sheikh Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, who also gave Sophie a silver and pearl cup.

Denis MacShane, then a Labour Member of Parliament (MP) and previously a Foreign Office minister, said: "Given the appalling suffering and repression of the Bahraini people, it would be a fitting gesture for the Countess of Wessex to auction these trinkets and distribute the proceeds to the victims of the regime.