The Princess and the Pr ; After 'Sophiegate' the Countess of Wessex Slipped Back to Safety Behind the Palace Walls. But Her Business Partner, Murray Harkin, His Life in Tatters, Was Left to Fend for Himself. He May Be Back with a New Company but, Says Annabel Rivkin, the Bruises of Betrayal Still Smart

Evening Standard - London › August 18, 2006

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Summary

Murray Harkin, a youthful 41, breezes through the Claridge's lobby, beams, shakes hands firmly and embarks on a cheerful moan about the weather, for all the world a confident, if slightly cheesy, PR person. It's only when he reaches for the glass of water in front of him that I notice how violently his hands are trembling.

Perhaps they always trembled; even before 'Sophiegate' and the loss of his business, reputation, boyfriend and credibility. Perhaps.

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Extract

The Princess and the Pr ; After 'Sophiegate' the Countess of Wessex Slipped Back to Safety Behind the Palace Walls. But Her Business Partner, Murray Harkin, His Life in Tatters, Was Left to Fend for Himself. He May Be Back with a New Company but, Says Annabel Rivkin, the Bruises of Betrayal Still Smart

It seems eons ago that Sophie Wessex was the most successful working Royal.

Her public relations career revolved around RJH (Rhys-Jones Harkin), the company she formed with Murray in 1997, two years before she married Prince Edward.

So thoroughly has she been absorbed into the folds of the palace that she is virtually invisible now.

But then, total professional obscurity, Murray will agree, is often more desirable than public derision.

It was in April 2001 that Murray and Sophie went to a series of meetings with a mysterious Dubaibased sheikh who was dangling a Pounds 500,000 contract in front of them. Soon to ...

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