Duchess Sophie nearly died twice in her agonising race to become a mother, a new biography has revealed. Sophie, 60, and Prince Edward, 61, have since welcomed two children – Lady Louise Windsor, 20, and James, Earl of Wessex, 17.
Sophie was 34 at the time that she tied the knot to Edward in June 1999 and, aware of her biological clock, the royal knew that she wanted children someday. In December 2001, just weeks shy of her 37th birthday, Sophie was overjoyed to found out that she was expecting their first child.
However, just weeks later, after experiencing stomach pains, Sophie later experienced an ectopic pregnancy – which is where the fertilised egg implants itself outside the womb, usually in a fallopian tube. After being alerted of Sophie’s situation, Dr Richard Thompson – who was head of the Queen’s medical staff – called the Thames Valley and Chiltern Air Ambulance.
With a red helicopter shortly landing on the lawn of the couple’s Bagshot Park, Sophie was whisked off for immediate surgery at King Edward VII’s Hospital, which is 500 yards from Zita’s clinic in Marylebone.
With no space for Edward in the helicopter, the royal was forced to drive to meet his wife at the hospital. Sophie was then in theatre for three hours and required five pints of blood. A statement from Buckingham Palace said that she was “comfortable” – which was medically true – however in reality, Sophie was distraught and said to be very tearful.
Outside the hospital Edward addressed the media. He said: “It’s obviously a very traumatic time and my wife has… it’s quite the most painful thing anyone can undergo. It’s a pretty traumatic experience.”
Fast forward two years later, in August 2003, speculation grew that Sophie was pictured in a bathing suit bearing an unmistakable bump. The Palace later publicly announced the happy news.
In November, and just six weeks away from her due date, Edward had travelled to Mauritius when Sophie began to experienced pains. An ambulance arrived and whisked Sophie off to Frimley Park Hospital – which was located six miles away from their Windsor-based home.
Upon her arrival, Sophie was rushed into theatre for an emergency caesarean operation. After showing signs of acute placental abruption, the medical term for when the placenta has separated from the uterus, the mother-to-be experienced a substantial loss of blood. It has later been revealed that her condition meant that both her and her baby’s lives were at risk.
Their daughter Louise was born on November 8, 2003, weighing just 4lb 9oz. As Edward took to first flight out of Mauritius, Sophie was slipping in and out of consciousness and required a transfusion of nine pints of blood. After finding out they were pregnant again, this time without any medical intervention, their son James was born by planned Caesarean at Frimley Park on December 17, 2007.