The reinvention of Sophie оре

AFTER SURVIVING A SCANDAL, SHE BECAME ONE OF THE WINDSORS' GREATEST ASSETS

- Kylie Walters

Words like steady and reliable are used regularly when referring to the Duchess of Edinburgh, but there was a time she wasn't considered to be such a safe pair of hands.

Sophie, 60, has undergone a very regal turnaround since she was thrust into the spotlight in 2001, accused of using her royal connections to cash in.

Showing reluctance to take on full-time royal duties after her 1999 wedding to Prince Edward, the Countess of Wessex, as she was known at the time, continued to run her public relations company.

"I see my role as a supporting one to Edward rather than rushing off and forging my own path and taking on various charities," Sophie said at the time.