The Queen's beloved daughter-in-law Sophie, Countess of Wessex, turns 50 on Tuesday and the official royal family’stwitter kicked off the celebration with an adorable picture of the royal as achild next to her most recent birthday portrait and another of her dressed up as Cinderella.
Over the years, Queen Elizabeth has asked her daughter-in-law, who married her youngest son in 1999, to attend official engagements on herbehalf. (Even on her birthday, Sophie is on a royal assignment for her.)
So the public has had a chance to see how the mother-of-two's style has evolved from simple and pretty to bolder choices that have won her internationalfashion praise and recognition. In 2013, she was asked to become the patron ofthe London College of Fashion.
"The key with Sophie is that she's really on trendwithout being outrageously trendy," her close friend, jewelrydesigner Belinda Hadden told our sister publication in the UK, HELLO! magazine. "She looks after herself withoutbeing obsessive.
“She is content with life and at totalpeace and it shows. She is beautiful."
The mother of Louise, 11, and James, 7, has been a loyal supporter ofBritish brands such as Bruce Oldfield, Emilia Wickstead and Erdem (also a KateMiddleton favorite).
And though, the Countess has long been an integral part ofthe royal family, quietly carrying out her duties, her style has become moreand more talked about.
To celebrate her birthday, click the gallery to see Sophie’s justhow far she has come with her fashion sense: