Uncertain future awaits Edward and Sophie

The Earl and Countess of Wessex, who are withdrawing from commercial life to help the Queen celebrate her golden jubilee, have not yet been included in any official jubilee engagements, Buckingham palace said yesterday.

Following Prince Edward's announcement that he and his wife would be severing all ties with the firms they founded in order to support his mother, the palace could not provide details of any events they had committed to take part in.

A spokeswoman for the couple said discussions about their future had begun some time ago, but that their exact role in the jubilee celebration was still being decided. The Queen's jubilee programme was finalised months ago.

The couple face an uncertain future following the announcement that he will stand down as managing director of his ailing television production company Ardent at the end of this month, while the countess will leave her post as an executive director of her RJH public relations firm immediately.

The couple's decision leaves the Queen's largesse as their sole source of income. They currently receive £141,000 a year from her private income to cover official expenditure. They are reported to have received a further one-off payment of £250,000 to compensate for the loss of their salaries, worth around £150,000 annually.

A spokeswoman for Buckingham Palace said any increased costs incurred as part of their expanded role would be met by the Queen.

Questions remain as to how the couple will support themselves when jubilee year is over. Their home, Bagshot Park in Surrey, costs an estimated £250,000 a year to run. Ardent rents office space at Bagshot but is set to move as a result of the prince's resignation, leaving the couple a further £50,000 out of pocket.

The decision will end their shambolic attempts to combine business with royal responsibility, which have been a source of embarrassment as both have exploited their status to enhance their careers.

The countess's attempt to win business from a reporter posing as an Arab sheikh, when she indicated she would use her royal status to secure favourable PR, prompted a review of royal commercial conduct last year.

Announcing his decision at a Duke of Edinburgh awards conference in Weston-super-Mare, Prince Edward said: "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."