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"Sophiegate" revelations heap embarrassment
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A BRITISH newspaper has published a transcript of tapes in which Queen Elizabeth II's daughter-in-law makes embarrassing remarks about fellow royals and leading politicians.
According to early Sunday editions of the News of the World, Sophie, Countess of Wessex, the 36-year-old wife of Prince Edward, ironically referred to Prime Minister Tony Blair as "President Blair".
She described Camilla Parker-Bowles, lover of heir to the throne Prince Charles, as "number one of the top ten unpopular people".
Finance minister Gordon Brown was criticised for having "snuck in... frightening" tax rises through the back door, and his budget unveiled in March was dismissed as "pap".
Sophie, a public relations executive, also said she opposed the government's plan to ban foxhunting with hounds.
On the issue, she said, Blair was "ignorant" of the realities of life in the British countryside while his wife Cherie was "even worse, she hates the countryside," according to the transcript.
Sketchy details of Sophie's remarks were leaked to a newspaper last week but the ten pages of transcript printed in the News of the World will make it harder for Buckingham Palace to dismiss them as inaccurate.
The "Sophiegate" affair has rekindled the debate over whether the royal family has any role in modern British society.
Sophie has been under intense pressure to ditch her private business interests because, according to critics, it puts her in a position where the dignity of the monarchy can be undermined.
Potentially more damaging than her own remarks are comments made by her business partner and friend Murray Harkin, who purportedly said he enjoyed cocaine and would introduce company clients to young gay men.
He is quoted as saying on the tape: "The odd line of coke I quite like."
The recording was made by a journalist from the News of the World who went to Sophie's public relations firm masquerading as an Arab sheikh who wanted to put some business her way.(SD-Agencies)
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