Sophie Rhys Jones

Britain's top-selling Sun tabloid today published a picture purportedly showing royal bride-to-be Sophie Rhys-Jones frolicking topless with a British television star more than 10 years ago. Rhys-Jones, 34, is due to marry Queen Elizabeth's youngest son Prince Edward, 35, in St George's Chapel on the grounds of Windsor Castle near London on June 19. The Sun splashed the front-page headline "Sophie Topless" and billed the photograph as a world exclusive.

Prince Edward wed commoner Sophie Rhys-Jones in the regal grandeur of Windsor Castle's ornate chapel Saturday, determined to avoid his siblings' highly publicized stumbles and make his marriage last. Thousands lined the streets of this small town to celebrate the union of the new Earl of Wessex--the title his mother, Queen Elizabeth II, gave him as a wedding gift--and a radiant Rhys-Jones, hereafter to be known as Her Royal Highness the Countess of Wessex.

Sometimes being royal can be a royal pain. Take the House of Windsor. Please. Beyond the pageantry and the palaces, there has been enough treachery and lechery of late to rewrite the history of England. But come June 19, our favorite dysfunctional dynasty will celebrate the marriage of the last bachelor prince, Edward, to his live-in lady, Sophie Rhys-Jones. In a family so unaccustomed to happy events, dare we hope that the newest royal couple-to-be will live happily ever after? Do you believe in fairy tales?

Sometimes being royal can be a royal pain. Take the House of Windsor. Please. Beyond the pageantry and the palaces, there has been enough treachery and lechery of late to rewrite the history of England. But come June 19, our favorite dysfunctional dynasty will celebrate the marriage of the last bachelor prince, Edward, to his live-in lady, Sophie Rhys-Jones. In a family so unaccustomed to happy events, dare we hope that the newest royal couple-to-be will live happily ever after? Do you believe in fairy tales?

Britain's Prince Edward is to marry his longtime girlfriend, Sophie Rhys-Jones, who confessed to being stunned when Queen Elizabeth II's youngest son finally proposed to her. Posing hand-in-hand for photographers, the couple said they plan a low-key family wedding and will both keep working in full-time jobs after they are married.

Prince Edward wed commoner Sophie Rhys-Jones in the regal grandeur of Windsor Castle's ornate chapel Saturday, determined to avoid his siblings' highly publicized stumbles and make his marriage last. Thousands lined the streets of this small town to celebrate the union of the new Earl of Wessex--the title his mother, Queen Elizabeth II, gave him as a wedding gift--and a radiant Rhys-Jones, hereafter to be known as Her Royal Highness the Countess of Wessex.

Following in the footsteps of his sister-in-law Diana, who declared recently that she vants to be alone, Prince Edward and his girlfriend have made a plea to Britain's media: Give us a break! Edward, 29, confirmed in an open letter to British editors that he and Di look-alike Sophie Rhys-Jones, 28, have been dating for three months and desperately want privacy.

It may be the wedding of the decade, but the forthcoming nuptials between Prince Edward, the queen's youngest son, and Sophie Rhys-Jones, his career-woman fiancee, will be decidedly more modest and modern than those of his brothers. In the 1980s, amid much pomp and splendor, Prince Charles and Diana Spencer were wed in London, in lofty St. Paul's Cathedral, and Prince Andrew and his wife, Sarah Ferguson, now divorced, married in the traditional royal house of prayer, Westminster Abbey.

Buckingham Palace has set out strict guidelines to ensure that royals keep official duties and business careers separate, a palace spokeswoman said. The rules were drawn up after an inquiry into remarks made by Prince Edward's wife, Sophie Rhys-Jones, who told a reporter posing as a sheik that her royal connections were useful in business dealings.

Prince Edward's wife, Sophie, was airlifted to a hospital Thursday for emergency surgery for an ectopic pregnancy, Britain's Press Assn. news agency said. Buckingham Palace declined to comment on the type of surgery but said the 36-year-old countess of Wessex was recovering. There had been no announcement that she was pregnant. In an ectopic pregnancy, the fetus develops in a fallopian tube. The news agency said the countess was "comfortable" after surgery at King Edward VII Hospital in London.

It may be the wedding of the decade, but the forthcoming nuptials between Prince Edward, the queen's youngest son, and Sophie Rhys-Jones, his career-woman fiancee, will be decidedly more modest and modern than those of his brothers. In the 1980s, amid much pomp and splendor, Prince Charles and Diana Spencer were wed in London, in lofty St. Paul's Cathedral, and Prince Andrew and his wife, Sarah Ferguson, now divorced, married in the traditional royal house of prayer, Westminster Abbey.

Britain's top-selling Sun tabloid today published a picture purportedly showing royal bride-to-be Sophie Rhys-Jones frolicking topless with a British television star more than 10 years ago. Rhys-Jones, 34, is due to marry Queen Elizabeth's youngest son Prince Edward, 35, in St George's Chapel on the grounds of Windsor Castle near London on June 19. The Sun splashed the front-page headline "Sophie Topless" and billed the photograph as a world exclusive.

Britain's Prince Edward is to marry his longtime girlfriend, Sophie Rhys-Jones, who confessed to being stunned when Queen Elizabeth II's youngest son finally proposed to her. Posing hand-in-hand for photographers, the couple said they plan a low-key family wedding and will both keep working in full-time jobs after they are married.

Following in the footsteps of his sister-in-law Diana, who declared recently that she vants to be alone, Prince Edward and his girlfriend have made a plea to Britain's media: Give us a break! Edward, 29, confirmed in an open letter to British editors that he and Di look-alike Sophie Rhys-Jones, 28, have been dating for three months and desperately want privacy.

Prince Edward and his wife, Sophie Rhys-Jones, who were criticized for their behavior as private sector executives, announced Saturday that they will quit their jobs to spend more time fulfilling their royal responsibilities, including planning the queen's Golden Jubilee celebrations.