How Prince Edward, Sophie’s ‘Embarrassing Gaffes’ Affected Queen Elizabeth’s Finances

Sophie, Countess of Wessex, Queen Elizabeth, Prince Edward — Pictured: Sophie, the Queen, Prince Edward during her reception to celebrate the patronages & affiliations of the Earl and Countess of Wessex at Buckingham Palace on February 10, 2015 in London, England. Getty Images/Chris Radburn-WPA Pool

Prince Edward and Sophie, Countess of Wessex’s embarrassing mistakes have reportedly affected Queen Elizabeth in more ways than one.

Since the Wessexes don’t have business careers, they still rely on Her Majesty to fund their daily expenses. As such, Her Majesty’s finances are gravely affected because of the royal couple.

Prince Edward and Sophie don’t also take funding from the public, so their expenses are covered by the monarch via the Duchy of Lancaster. This money forms what is known as the Privy Purse, and it is used to fund the Queen’s private expenses. Her Majesty began this arrangement in 1992.

In 1992, the Queen removed Prince Edward, Princess Margaret, Prince Andrew, Princess Anne, and the Dowager Duchess of Gloucester of the Civil List.

The Civil List, was, later on, replaced by the Sovereign Grant in 2012. Prince Edward and Sophie are currently using the Sovereign Grant to fund their official duties like their work on the Duke of Edinburgh Awards.

Meanwhile, Prince Edward and Sophie used to have their own careers. The latter used to work in the PR world, but she was caught in a fake sheik sting. Following the incident, Sophie decided to retire from the firm.

Prince Edward previously served as the head of the television production company Ardent. But the dad of two was forced to step down from his post after the company faced backlash for breaking royal protocol by stalking Prince William in school.

But according to royal commentator Richard Fitzwilliams, the Queen doesn’t seem to mind the setup because Prince Edward and Sophie are two of her hardest-working members of the royal family.

“Sophie and Edward Wessex are seen as among the most dependable and hard-working members of the Royal Family. Since they both took up royal duties full-time in 2002, they have taken up numerous patronages of their own and Edward has succeeded Prince Philip who has retired, as President of his highly successful Awards Scheme and reportedly will one day be Duke of Edinburgh… This year the Queen made him Earl of Forfar on his 55th birthday, in recognition of his remarkable work,” he told Express.