THE Countess of Wessex was in Southampton yesterday, attending a charity lunch to honour the south of England's leading business women.

Presenting the award at the Wessex Business Woman of the Year award was a new experience for the royal, who was making her first official visit to Wessex without her husband, Prince Edward.

The awards were hosted by Ordnance Survey and the Countess, wearing a fitted cream suit, arrived at the ceremony at the wheel of her Rover 75.

She chatted with entrants in the awards and with business leaders gathered in the new Ordnance Survey business centre.

The inaugural Wessex Business Woman of the Year title was won by Isle of Wight-

based Sally Lynskey. She heads up GRP Laminates and said she was delighted to have received the award from the Countess. "This is a great prize for GRP Laminates which was set up two years ago," she said. "It is good for the Island as so many people have lost their jobs over the years and it is good to put as much back as possible into the economy."

More than 150 guests attended the gala lunch which raised money for the Winged Fellowship Trust, which runs five holiday centres around the UK. Proceeds from the awards will be directed towards the trust's Netley Waterside centre.

Other guests included Lord Lieutenant of Hampshire Mary Fagan, Esther Rantzen and Winged Fellowship Trust founder Joan Brander.