I see that the Countess of Wessex (aka Sophie Rhys-Jones) is to open the new Journalists' Charity care home in Dorking in September. That's good of her, given her uncomfortable relationships with journalists in the past.
In 2001, she was the subject of a sting operation masterminded by the News of the World's infamous fake sheikh (aka Mazher Mahmood). He trapped her into being more than a little indiscreet about the value of her royal connections.
That incident, and its aftermath as the press rounded on her, certainly undermined her public image. It also contributed to the decision of both her and her husband, the Earl of Wessex (aka Prince Edward, aka Edward Windsor), to give up their business interests and concentrate on their royal duties (aka smiling, shaking hands with common people and cutting ribbons).
So it's very sporting of Sophie, is it not, to turn up at the home for elderly journalists? She will be greeted, incidentally, by the charity's chairman, Robert Warren, erstwhile News of the World boss and apologist for the Mahmood. It will enable to ask after the sheikh's health.
