Edward, Sophie quit businesses

LONDON, England (CNN) -- Britain's Earl and Countess of Wessex have announced that they are both stepping down from their businesses.

The couple -- criticised for sometimes blurring royal and commercial roles -- said the move was to support Queen Elizabeth II during her Golden Jubilee year.

Edward, the queen's youngest son, said that after 10 years in the business world he had decided to step down at the end of this month as TV production firm Ardent's director of production and joint managing director.

His wife, who had already ceased her day-to-day involvement in the management of R-JH Public Relations, is also to stand down.

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Although the Golden Jubilee -- a celebration of 50 years of Queen Elizabeth on the British throne -- is cited as the reason, the move will be permanent.

Edward, 37, made the announcement during a speech to the South West regional conference of the Duke of Edinburgh's Award Scheme in Weston-super-Mare, western England.

"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.

Edward said that 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.

The Queen is expected to increase her financial support for the Earl and Countess following the decision. British newspaper reports put this at around £250,000 ($350,000) a year.

A spokeswoman for Buckingham Palace told CNN: "Any increase in their office or official costs will be met from the Queen's private income. Public money is not involved. This is a private matter."

It has been a tough year for the couple. In December they suffered a personal tragedy when Sophie lost the couple's first baby after an ectopic pregnancy.

Edward has been accused of exploiting his royal position in efforts to make his television company a success.

Recently, he was involved in a dispute with his brother, Prince Charles, after a camera team from Edward's company, Ardent, was caught filming at St. Andrews University, where Prince William is a student, breaching a media agreement to respect William's privacy.

Sophie has continued to run her successful public relations firm, R-JH, since marrying the prince on June 19, 1999, although questions have been raised about whether such a job is compatible with her royal status.

In April last year Sophie stood down as chairman of the firm after disparaging comments she made about the royal family were published after a newspaper "sting."

She had made the comments to an undercover reporter who was posing as an Arab sheikh offering a lucrative contract to her company.

Although a statement from Buckingham Palace said Queen Elizabeth deplored "the entrapment, subterfuge, innuendo and untruths" to which the countess and her husband had been subjected, change was signalled.

In July, the palace unveiled new guidelines designed to prevent conflicts of interest between family members' business activities and their royal duties.

Ardent chairman Malcolm Cockren said Edward's decision would take effect from March 31 and he would remain a director "until such time as he is able to fulfil his current contractual obligations."

He added: "It has been a real pleasure and privilege working with Edward over the past eight years and we are very proud of our achievements over that period."

R-JH confirmed that Sophie was giving up her duties as an executive director of the company and will become a non-executive director.

It said Sophie would no longer be drawing a salary and would be reducing her controlling share interest to that of a minority shareholder.

Elizabeth II became queen on February 6, 1952, following the death of her father, King George VI.

The last British monarch to celebrate a Golden Jubilee was Queen Victoria in 1887. Victoria went on to celebrate her Diamond Jubilee (60 years on the throne) in 1897.

Hundreds of events are planned for the summer to celebrate Elizabeth's 50-year milestone including two concerts -- one pop, one classical -- in the grounds of Buckingham Palace, with tickets to be allocated by lottery.