Edward & Sophie: I was sure Edward was going to dump me two years ago

SOPHIE Rhys-Jones was the picture of happiness as she posed for photographs after her engagement to Prince Edward last week.

But her smiles hid the heartache she suffered two years ago when she thought the Prince was going to dump her.

As she showed-off her pounds 105,000 diamond engagement ring, a close friend of the 33-year-old PR executive revealed how Sophie had been concerned that Edward was seeing another woman.

The confidante said: "There was a spell about two years ago when they were not so close, there was some sort of row.

"Friends thought it would all bust up and it would destroy Sophie.

"She did not go into great detail, she would grit her teeth. She did have a quiet weep, though. She said she didn't think it was going anywhere and that Edward seemed cold and distant.

"She didn't know if he had someone else. Everyone said he was not seeing anyone else and I think, deep down, she knew she was being silly.

"But Sophie did wonder if he had got fed up with her. She felt the magic had gone.

"Whenever he was asked would he propose, her stomach churned. She knew it made him dig his heels in not to do it.

"She always wanted to marry him but she thought he would never propose and she got quite low." The revelations are a world apart from the image the couple presented last Wednesday when they spoke of their summer wedding plans.

When asked why he had not proposed earlier, Prince Edward said: "I don't think it would have been right before, and I don't think Sophie would have said 'yes' if I had before.

"It's impossible for anyone else to understand why it's taken me so long. Hopefully, by the fact she did say 'yes' I must have got the timing right."

In reality, Sophie had been bracing herself for the public humiliation of a Royal snub.

Her friend said: "She thought if it ended she would always be a figure of pity.

"She loved her life, she enjoyed her job, she did not want to lose the cache. It was thought her life would be ruined if he didn't marry her.

"Sophie thought the shutters would come down, that he wouldn't say 'this is the end because that's not the way he works. She knew your phone calls don't get through or they don't call back - you're frozen out.

"Three weeks later the romance was back on. No one ever got to the bottom of it."

The 34-year-old Prince proposed to Sophie while holidaying at the exclusive Pink Beach cottage colony in Bermuda before Christmas.

They are discussing where to hold the wedding, with St George's Chapel Windsor top of their list.

Support for the Royal couple has already come from unexpected directions. Simone Simmons, a close friend of the Princess of Wales and author of Diana: The Secret Years, revealed how Di had always been supportive.

She said: "Diana used to give Sophie tips on which Royals 'to keep an eye on' when they met at functions.

"She felt they had a lot in common and she knew how confusing Royal protocol could be to an outsider."

Simone said Diana admired Edward and Sophie for being a "hardworking and financially independent couple".

Simone said: "Diana told me that she felt sorry for Sophie simply because she was so deeply involved with what she called The Family."

But last week Sophie was telling friends that she is "incredibly happy".

One, Sally Jones, believes the marriage will be the only one among the younger Royals to survive - helped by their similar sense of humour.

She recalled how a woman who'd been drinking too much at an engagement sidled up to the Prince and said: "No wonder you're taking your time getting hitched. Your family haven't much of a marital track record, have they?"

Sally said: "Edward smiled. 'Just shows you can't be too careful, can you?' he replied.

"Only a raised eyebrow to his equerry Lt Col Sean O'Dwyer acted as a signal to extricate him from a sticky situation.

"Sophie shares the same easy manner. She has the gift of making everyone feel special."

Friends say she plans to drop a dress size for the wedding. "She has already lost a stone and become more well-groomed," said one girl friend.

"Before she looked like an average middle class girl. Now she is wearing nice jewellery and beautiful ball gowns."

LAST year Sophie's PR firm produced a men's guide to buying an engagement ring for jeweller's Boodle & Dunthorne. "You can't go far wrong with a diamond solitaire," it said. Edward went two better with his choice of a three-diamond, white gold ring.

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