Prince Edward, Wife to Give Up Day Jobs

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.

“It is quite obvious that in this year, the Golden Jubilee, we are required more than ever to support the queen and to help my family shoulder some of the increasing responsibilities and workload into the future,” said Edward, Queen Elizabeth II’s youngest son.

Edward, 37, said running his own television production company had been “enormous fun, immensely rewarding and full of surprises.”

“Yet I always knew in the back of my mind that one day things would have to change. Well, that day has come, not just for me, but also for my wife,” he said in a speech to a conference in Weston-super-Mare, southern England.

Both Edward’s and Sophie’s business interests have drawn criticism in recent years.

Edward has been accused of exploiting his royal position for the benefit of his television company.

Recently, a camera team from his company was caught filming at his nephew Prince William’s university, breaching a media agreement to respect William’s privacy.

Sophie has continued to run a successful public relations firm since marrying the prince in 1999.

In April, she was recorded by a journalist posing as a potential client suggesting that clients would benefit from her royal connection.

The prince said Saturday that after the couple had fulfilled their current obligations they would “cease to have any connection with our companies.”