Sophie loses secret baby

Prince Edward's wife Sophie lost their first baby after being dramatically airlifted to hospital by helicopter for an emergency operation yesterday.

The 36-year-old Countess of Wessex - whose pregnancy was a closely-guarded secret - had collapsed in agony at the couple's mansion home near Windsor.

Doctors discovered she had a life-threatening ectopic pregnancy, where the baby develops outside the womb.

Royal gynaecologist Marcus Setchell performed an immediate operation lasting nearly three hours. Sophie, who had been some six weeks pregnant, was said to be tearful and 'unbelievably sad' last night. Her 37-year-old husband was at her bedside in the King Edward VII Hospital for Officers in London.

The Royal Family was stunned by the news, because the couple had told no one about the pregnancy. Now Edward and Sophie, who have often told of their longing to start a family, face the possibility that she may never be able to conceive again.

It was in the early hours of yesterday that the Countess began complaining of stomach pains. By 7am, a worried Edward had called a doctor to their home, Bagshot Park.

Soon after, Dr Richard Thompson, the Queen's physician and the head of the medical household, arrived.

Realising the seriousness of the Countess's condition, which affects one in 200 pregnancies, he called the Royal Berkshire Ambulance Service, which scrambled the Thames Valley Air Ambulance from Maidenhead.

The helicopter landed in the mansion's extensive grounds and Sophie was carried out on a stretcher for the 20-minute flight to a site near the Central London hospital.

Mr Setchell and his team were already waiting to carry out the operation.

There was no room in the helicopter for Edward, however, and he made the 25-mile dash into the capital by car.

It is understood he went straight to Buckingham Palace to tell his mother the news, before going to the hospital, where Princess Margaret and the Queen Mother were treated earlier this year.

The couple spent several hours together before Edward returned to the Palace to see the Queen and authorise aides to release details of the crisis.

The Countess, who is understood to have lost a considerable amount of blood during the operation, is likely to stay in hospital under round-the-clock observation for at least five days.

It will be six weeks or longer before she is well enough to resume her working life and public engagements. Her parents, Christopher and Mary Rhys-Jones, were travelling to her bedside last night.

Sophie and Edward, who have been married for two and a half years, had decided it was too early to tell family and friends or make a public announcement about her pregnancy.

But she dropped a hint two weeks ago, when the couple opened a new paediatric unit at a Southampton hospital. Asked if she was pregnant, she made no reply, but simply smiled.

An ectopic pregnancy occurs when a fertilised egg implants outside the womb - either inside one of the two fallopian tubes or, more rarely, within the abdominal cavity - and begins to grow. It causes crippling pain and bleeding.

Sophie's recovery will depend on the precise details of her condition. For many women, the psychological anguish of losing a baby takes much longer to heal than the physical scars.

An ectopic pregnancy can also make it much more difficult for a woman to conceive naturally.

Earlier this year Sophie, who is 37 next month, spoke of her longing for a child.

She said she would be prepared to consider artificial insemination if natural methods did not succeed.

'It's amazing how many friends of mine have had problems either conceiving or losing children,' she said.

She smiled as she added: 'I think if I was going to have five or ten, I should have started an awful long time ago. But if I am lucky enough to have any, one of each would be nice.

'I certainly don't think I have left it too late. I'd always have wanted at least a year or two of married life before introducing something that changes your life.'

The medical drama follows a traumatic year for the couple. In April, Sophie was the victim of a 'sting' by an undercover reporter posing as an Arab sheik, to whom she made indiscreet remarks about members of the Royal Family and political figures.

Her partner in her Mayfair public relations firm was forced to resign and Sophie was accused of cashing in on her royal status. She has since taken a back seat in the business.

Edward was at the centre of controversy after a film crew from his television company Ardent was caught filming at St Andrews University, where Prince William is studying, in breach of an agreement to leave him alone.

One of the Countess's closest friends said last night: 'None of us had any idea she was pregnant. Poor Sophie, it's been an awful year and now this.

'I just hope and pray it won't prevent her trying for a baby in the future.'

To add to Sophie's distress, two of her friends are expecting babies in the next few months.