Prince Edward's wife Sophie airlifted to hospital for surgery

LONDON (AP) -- Prince Edward's wife Sophie was airlifted to a hospital Thursday for emergency surgery, Buckingham palace said.

Press Association, the British news agency, said she was "comfortable" following surgery for an ectopic pregnancy, which occurs when a fetus develops in a Fallopian tube.

There had been no announcement that the 36-year-old Countess of Wessex was pregnant. She and her husband have no children.

The Berkshire Ambulance Service said it was called to Edward and Sophie's home, Bagshot Park, on Thursday night for a female patient who had a "sudden illness" at home.

A Thames Valley and Chiltern air ambulance was dispatched and the patient was transferred to hospital, the ambulance service said.

Prince Edward wed Sophie Rhys-Jones at Windsor Castle in 1999. He was given the title Earl of Wessex by his mother, Queen Elizabeth II, as a wedding gift. Edward is the youngest of the queen's four children.