Royal wife stands aside after row

LONDON, England -- Sophie Rhys-Jones, Queen Elizabeth's daughter-in-law, has stood down as chairman of her public relations firm after disparaging comments she made about the royal family were published.

Rhys-Jones made the comments to an undercover reporter who was posing as an Arab sheikh offering a lucrative contract to her company, RJH.

"I am deeply distressed by the carrying out of an entrapment operation on me and my business but I also much regret my own misjudgement in succumbing to that subterfuge," Rhys-Jones said in a statement issued by Buckingham Palace on Sunday.

"I have discussed the situation with the queen and I have decided to step aside as chairman of RJH while the issues raised by recent events are carefully considered," she said.

British newspaper News of the World published the disparaging comments it said Rhys-Jones made about British politicians and the royal family.

In a separate statement, the palace said Queen Elizabeth "deplores the entrapment, subterfuge, innuendo and untruths" to which Rhys-Jones and her husband Prince Edward had been subjected.

It said the queen fully supported them in their efforts to mix their royal duties with working careers.

Rhys-Jones' business partner Murray Harkin has also resigned following the publication of his comments allegedly concerning cocaine use.

Harkin was also quoted as saying he was "more than happy" to arrange sex tourism and gay parties for company clients.

Rhys-Jones was recorded calling Prime Minister Tony Blair "President Blair", saying Opposition leader William Hague looked like a puppet and described the heir to the throne Prince Charles and his companion Camilla Parker Bowles as "number one on the top 10 unpopular people."

She supported foxhunting, saying Blair was "ignorant" of the countryside and his wife Cherie was "even worse, she hates the countryside."

She was also quoted as saying the press wanted to put her on the "empty pedestal" that had been left by Diana, Princess of Wales.

But she did not think she could have "coped with that level of pressure".

Reuters contributed to this report.

Tabloid sting prompts UK royal row
April 8, 2001

The British Monarchy
News of the World

Note: Pages will open in a new browser window

External sites are not endorsed by CNN Interactive.