Prince Edward and Sophie celebrate their silver wedding anniversary
Royal model marriage without scandals
Prince Edward and Duchess Sophie celebrate their silver wedding anniversary on June 19th.
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The British royal family has already experienced all kinds of love scandals. But Prince Edward and Duchess Sophie show that things can be different.
On June 19, Prince Edward (60) and his wife Duchess Sophie (59) celebrate their wedding anniversary. 25 years have passed since the youngest son of the late Queen Elizabeth II (1926-2022) married the civil Sophie Rhys-Jones. While his siblings, King Charles III (75), Princess Anne (73) and Prince Andrew (64), have all divorced at some point, Edward remains faithful to his Sophie to this day. The two are now celebrating their silver wedding anniversary without any scandals or love crises.
Getting to know each other on the tennis court
The royal fairytale of the Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh began in 1993. The sparks between the then 29-year-old prince and Sophie ignited at the “Queen’s Club West Kensington” in London – at a tennis tournament, as befits the two sports stars. The two were introduced to each other by a mutual friend in 1987 – but at the time both were engaged. The fateful encounter on the sports field completely changed the life of Sophie, who grew up as the daughter of a tire dealer and a secretary in a rural area of Kent, England: She was working as a PR manager at the time and probably never expected to live as a duchess.
Prince Edward took an unusually long time for a British royal to answer the question of all questions. In January 1999, the palace announced that the couple had become engaged in the Bahamas and would marry in the same year. In an interview about the engagement, which to watch on YouTube Sophie reveals her love secret: “We have a lot of common interests, we laugh a lot and we have a great friendship.” Her fiancé agrees. They are “the very best of friends and that’s important, but it also helps that we love each other very much.”
Modest wedding in St. George’s Chapel
With their wedding on June 19, 1999, Edward and Sophie broke with several traditions. Unlike his siblings, the royal did not get married in Westminster Abbey or St. Paul’s Cathedral, but in the much smaller St. George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle. The ceremony contained no state or military elements – Prince Edward was the first son of a British monarch not to marry in a military uniform.
The approximately 200 million royal fans who watched the wedding of the year 25 years ago on TV also had to forgo the traditional wedding kiss in front of the crowd. To this day, there is no official photo of Edward and Sophie kissing on the mouth.
Difficult family planning
The couple’s great desire to have their own family had to wait a little after the wedding. In 2001, the Duchess was taken to hospital with severe abdominal pain. There, an ectopic pregnancy was diagnosed, which required a two-hour emergency operation. Sophie then spent several days in intensive care. “Everyone should know that this is pretty much the most painful thing you can imagine,” the Prince said. to the BBC express his grief.
Edward and Sophie emerged stronger from this setback. In 2003, their dream finally came true and on November 8th their daughter Lady Louise Windsor (20) was born. Four years later her brother James (16) followed. The parents made a conscious decision not to give their children any royal titles at birth. Edward and Sophie enjoy their family life at the Bagshot Park country estate in Surrey, around 50 kilometers from Buckingham Palace.
Edward and Sophie are strong pillars of the monarchy
In the 25 years of their marriage, Edward and Sophie have become indispensable representatives of the monarchy. With their freedom from scandal, they are now considered the rock of the British royal family. Since King Charles and Princess Kate (42) have had to cut back due to cancer, they have taken on many other royal duties. In the first four months of the year, the couple completed the most public duties after Princess Anne, according to the “Daily Mail”. Prince Edward had already attended 82 appointments from January to the end of April, Sophie had 62. Recent surveys by the opinion research institute YouGov show that the number 14 in the line of succession is currently becoming increasingly popular.
Their love has not suffered from the heavy workload. In March, Sophie raved about her Edward in a speech at an event in honor of his 60th birthday. “Whatever he does, he always gives 150 percent of himself,” she said According to the Daily MailFor her, her husband is “the best of all fathers, the most loving of all husbands and still my best friend.” “I am incredibly lucky that I found Sophie and she found me,” Edward said, reacting to this declaration of love during an appearance on the show “Love Your Weekend.” The two are now crowning their love with a new milestone with their silver wedding anniversary.