It has been 24 years since the marriage of Prince Edward and Sophie Rhys-Jones at St George’s Chapel Windsor, which followed a whirlwind five-year relationship. Prince Edward, the Duke of Edinburgh and youngest son of the late Queen and Prince Philip, first encountered Sophie unexpectedly in 1987 when she worked in public relations for Capital Radio. However, their story truly began after a second encounter six years later when Sophie was in charge of the publicity for Edward’s Real Tennis Challenge. Fast forward two children and over two decades of marriage, Prince Edward remains the only one of the Queen’s siblings who has never divorced. So, what is the secret to their enduring love story? Here, FEMAIL delves into the blissful marriage of the Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh…
After celebrating their 24th anniversary in June, Prince Edward and Sophie, who share two children – Lady Louise Windsor, 19, and James, Viscount Severn, 15 – have continued to strengthen their relationship. Their first date is rumored to have been a tennis match followed by dinner at Buckingham Palace. During the early stages of their courtship, there was pressure for them to get engaged. Edward even released a statement urging reporters and photographers to respect their privacy. He grew tired of repeated questions about an engagement, stating, “If you shut up, mind your own business and let me do it when I want, it’s much more likely to happen.”
It was speculated that Diana, Princess of Wales’s interview on Panorama the year before had hindered previous attempts at an engagement, prompting Prince Edward to wait. Finally, during a holiday in the Bahamas in December 1998, he proposed to Sophie with an Asprey and Garrard engagement ring valued at £105,000. They announced their engagement the following month when they were both 34. The couple tied the knot on June 19, 1999, in a relatively low-key celebration with 500 guests at St George’s Chapel in Windsor. While not a grand ceremonial event, it attracted 200 million viewers on television.
Sophie faced difficulties during the birth of their first child, Lady Louise, undergoing an emergency caesarean section. The official announcement at the time acknowledged the precautionary measures taken for mother and baby’s well-being. Sophie lost nine pints of blood through internal bleeding, and while Louise received specialist care at St George’s Hospital, Sophie remained in Frimley Hospital for another 16 days. In 2007, the couple welcomed their second child, James, with a much smoother delivery.
When James was born, he was eighth in line to the throne. Prince Edward and Sophie decided that their children would have courtesy titles, rather than being called Prince or Princess, with the late monarch’s approval. James is known as Viscount Severn, an acknowledgment of Sophie’s Welsh heritage, as the name is derived from the River Severn in Wales. The couple wanted their children to have as normal a life as possible, given their circumstances, without the weight of such titles.
Sophie is dedicated to her children’s well-being and fiercely protective of them, having faced medical complications during childbirth. She and Edward have always strived to be present in their children’s lives, avoiding heavy reliance on nannies. Sophie’s close proximity to the Queen allowed for frequent quality time for Louise and James while growing up. The couple initially faced challenges after their marriage, including scandals involving Sophie’s PR firm and Edward’s film company attempting to circumvent bans on filming Prince William. However, they have since overcome these obstacles and have become hard-working and respected senior royals. Sophie, in particular, is known for her work on preventable blindness and addressing sexual violence in war.
The fact that Edward and Sophie were given the titles of Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh shows how far they have come since their rocky start.
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