The Unofficial British Royal Family Pages

Friday 28 July 2006

Team Wessex - Really Useful Royals

When Edward Antony Richard Louis Mountbatten-Windsor was born on March 10, 1964, the last of Queen Elizabeth II�s �second family�, he was then third in line for the throne after his brothers Charles and Andrew. Now he is seventh, after Charles, William, Harry, Andrew, and Andrew�s daughters. However, if William marries and has children, and so does Harry, then all those precede him as well.

It�s hard enough finding your way in the world when your mother is a Queen, your eldest brother and sister so much older than you and already embarked on their lives. What are you supposed to do with yourself?

For Edward it�s been a struggle, but since his marriage to Sophie Rhys Jones in 1999, he seems to have at last find his niche in the royal family value department- he has become a tireless road warrior for good causes throughout the Commonwealth. And he�s gotten really good at it too. But since he keeps such a low profile these days mostly his and his Countess�s efforts go unnoted and possibly underappreciated. How�d he get from there to here?

After his now-normal education of a governess until he was seven, then schooling in Kensington and Ascot, followed by graduation from his father�s alma mater Gordonstoun in Scotland, he did two terms of his �gap� year at a collegiate school in New Zealand. Behind his brother Charles and his godfather Prince Richard, Duke of Gloucester, he was then only the third member of his family to graduate from university, with a BA in History from Cambridge. And then came the day of reckoning-now what?

Military service has been obligatory for royal sons, so Edward joined the Royal Marines, reaching the rank of 2^nd Lieutenant. But three months into training he found the rigors too much for him and he resigned his commission-much to the reported disgust of his father. This only enforced the media-driven conclusion that our Edward must be gay. That inference kept up even after he announced his engagement to Sophie. But this decision left him in a precarious position because Edward wanted a career outside the Royal Firm.

His love of theatre and performing led him to join Andrew Lloyd Webber�s Really Useful Theatre Company, working on shows like �Cats� and �Phantom of the Opera�. Perhaps he should have paid more attention to the details of production because when he set up a television production company called Ardent in 1993, it quickly ran into financial trouble. Despite some victories like the �Crown and Country� series, where he served as on-camera narrator as the episodes toured his own family�s homes and resources, the company soon foundered. The last straw came when, despite media guarantees that Prince William would be left alone while he was attending St. Andrews University, one of Ardent�s film crews was caught secretly filming William as he walked around the town. Charles and son were not impressed.

Fortunately for him the Queen�s Golden Jubilee year of 2002 had arrived, leaving him with a legitimate way out. He resigned from Ardent to concentrate on participating in the events laid out in celebration of this milestone. It was his last attempt at rebellion.

Now while he was getting Ardent off the ground Edward met a young, blonde fresh-faced public relations consultant named Sophie Rhys Jones, a very distantly removed cousin of his. Soon she had quietly moved into Buckingham Palace. For five years, almost completely under the media�s radar, she had come and gone to her business every day from the Palace. They probably thought she just worked there. But she was slowly being indoctrinated into the Royal business. She may have encouraged Edward�s career moves and had obviously long ago cast her lot in with him. Still the world was set aback in January of 1999 when their engagement was announced. The �gay� rumors persisted and some sniggered he was just doing this to put paid to them. On June 19, a low key but lovely wedding ceremony took place at Windsor�s St. George�s Chapel.

Sophie, who wore her hair in a similar fashion to one her late sister-in-law Diana had once sported, and who seemed to have the same taste in clothing designers, was soon unfairly being compared to Diana. Frankly, the Jester never saw much of a resemblance between them. But the British tabloids smelled a real moneymaker here, and one even hatched a nasty plan bent on setting her up for humiliation and starting a family feud. Unfortunately she fell into the trap, much to that publication�s glee. As an astute PR professional should, she lived and learned.

In 2003, she gave birth to their first child, Lady Louise Windsor. The Queen had proclaimed Edward the Earl of Wessex and Viscount Severn on his wedding day (not the customary Duke at Edward�s request). The last Earl of Wessex had been King Harold before his big win in 1066. Sophie became HRH The Countess of Wessex. After Louise�s early health problems were sorted out Edward began taking on more and more of his father�s roles, which Philip had been giving up due to age (85), as well as continuing with his own. He and Sophie have become a tight working unit, together and singularly. They are honourary Colonels-in-Chief of several military regiments-three in Canada; Edward is President and now Vice-Patron of the Commonwealth Games Federation (see Court Jester March 06 column), has taken over the presentation duties for the Duke of Edinburgh Awards and represents the International Paralympic Committee. In order to carry out duties on behalf of just these three organizations a lot of territory has to be covered in a short time. Just as an example, in the past year, June 2005 to June 2006, Team Wessex has crossed the vastness of Canada twice.

The Queen and Prince Philip had just spent nine days in May touring the provinces of Alberta and Saskatchewan (see Court Jester June 05 column). While Edward set down in the Atlantic provinces for the start of his own nine-day marathon, Sophie started hers in Toronto. Together and apart they would perform 50 engagements, in 14 cities, for 25 organizations, across five provinces, and that was just that year. They were, as one national newspaper columnist put it, �royalty with its sleeves rolled up�.

On behalf of the Duke of Edinburgh Awards Edward would bestow over 400 of them to young people aged 14 to 25 before he was finished. A few however had been waiting for theirs a little longer than usual. One, now a firefighter, had earned his Gold Achiever in 1982, but somehow had slipped between the cracks. Twenty-three years later he received his from the Earl. �Sooner or later,� quipped Edward, �we will find you�. The children�s camp, located near a small country town, served lunch at picnic tables. The people were thrilled that he would even come there. He just wanted to spend as much time as possible with the kids. While he was enjoying the fresh country air his teammate had set down in the big smoke-Toronto.

She started out in hardhat talking with construction crews, professional and not, as they worked on a home for Habitat for Humanity. She spent her lunch dressed in fatigues, munching on rations as she went out on a training exercise with her Lincoln and Wellands Regiment. She would see them later that evening at the Regimental Dinner. In the meantime she headed back to join Edward for his inspection of his Hastings and Prince Edward Regiment (named for a previous Prince of that name). There were wreaths to lay for D-Day recognition, cadets to inspect and speeches to make. In each one they repeated how grateful they were for their warm welcomes and for the honour of being their honourary C-in-C. They meant it.

People sometimes ask what is the point of the royal family. They can do things that are of much benefit, that wouldn�t get done if they weren�t there to do them. Take the �Dukes� as they are nicknamed by Edward. If it weren�t for the opportunities earning one provided many young people may not have tried to rise out of their lives of poverty and addiction. Their visit to a hospital for sick children, and their intense interest in the heart transplant machinery their participation helped raise funds for, made the work of the institute somehow more important and visible, according to its founder.

As he remarked at one awards ceremony, Edward sees his role as �� very simply as trying to-if I can-bring recognition to people who have succeeded or who have achieved�.

Sophie�s visits to schools for autistic children, the National Ballet School and Girl Guide camps instantly brought their work recognition. On the final day, June 7, for two hours at a reception held for them, they worked the steamy room, making sure to meet all of the 270 guests; �Some of you two or three times,� joked Edward. They even plunged through the line to greet those waiting in the corners. Leaving their giddy �stalkers� in the Club they cheerfully exited down four flights of stairs to their waiting airport-bound motorcade because the elevator had broken down. Just last month they were back for another nine-days of Canadian hospitality.

This time they made it out to the Jester�s neck of the world. Edward was in Vancouver to present, and watch, the raising of the 2010 Paralympic Winter Games Flag, next to the 2010 Olympic flag already flying in front of City Hall. The formalities started with a formal 40-minute walkabout by Edward and Sophie. The entertainment reflected the Prince�s interests in youth, sports and the arts. They watched performances by a children�s choir, snowboarders, hip hop dancers, circus arts students and a wheelchair basketball team. The Police Band played and a colour guard made up of police and fire service members was inspected. The crowds were large and respectful of the occasion. That evening they flew the short distance to the capital of the province of BC to stay overnight at Government House. That is the residence of the Lieutenant-Governor of the Province (represents the Queen provincially as the Governor General does nationally), and Government House is always the official B&B for visiting regals and vice-regals alike.

Next day, their last, Edward was scheduled to stay home, make �Dukes� presentations and do media interviews. Sophie was making a quick trip to a school for special needs children, to turn the sod for a special playground that was about to take shape. It was a bit of an overcast, windy day but the Jester decided to walk there as it wasn�t far away from my office. Sophie was scheduled to arrive about 11:00am and stay for half an hour. Well I got there about 11am and joined the ranks of the small crowd outside the fence of the schoolyard. Inside was a crowd of invited guests sitting on chairs around the sod-turning site. Positioned over to the far side was a bank of television cameras from the BBC, etc. Police wranglers tried to corral the local photographers in a roped-in area on this side. In between them, under a portable canopy, sat Sophie. She was wearing a creamy-colored, flowing skirt with a burgundy blazer. I kept hoping the strong breeze would not do embarrassing things to that skirt, but all went well.

I was just in time for her short speech of affirmation for the good work the school did, and how this playground that was to be built would benefit the children�s progress. Each had a particular problem that made their integration into the mainstream school system impossible. The major news outlets had their reporters wandering around looking for promising interview subjects. The sod turning didn�t go quite as smoothly as hoped, but whatever the problem (I couldn�t see) Sophie made a joke that sent the onlookers into easy laughter. She made a point of saying hello to every child, to the delight of parents and teachers. And then, in a short ten minutes, she had moved easily out of the yard and back into her black Lincoln, followed closely behind by bodyguards and a couple of intrepid camera-jockeys, speeding back to the House for a formal Luncheon. That afternoon they were invited aboard a navy battleship for a tour and reception before they left to fly home.

It was a fundraiser for military families of our forces now deployed in dangerous places. I didn�t get to go, but for a friend of mine who met them (and who is probably reading this) it was, �the best $75.00 I ever blew!�

Team Wessex keeps its head down and does its work with quiet humour, gentle smiles and charm. They seem to have learned from their early mistakes. As they take on more duties they will surely become more respected and appreciated for doing what the Queen learned long ago: be seen often, do good works, and stay relevant in people�s lives. As really useful royals they score often and score where it counts most- in people�s hearts.

(The Jester must acknowledge that the research and quotations for the 2005 visit section of this column were taken from an article written by a journalist named Lynne Bell, who covered the Wessexes� journey for Majesty Magazine, and which was published in the June edition of Canadian Monarchist News- www.monarchist.ca).

Anon, and keep cool if you can!

- The Court Jester