Inside Duchess Sophie and Prince Edward’s wedding as pair celebrate 25th anniversary
The Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh are celebrating their 25th wedding anniversary today. Here Express.co.uk shares eight pictures to mark their special day.
The Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh are celebrating a major milestone in their relationship today – 25 years of marriage.
The couple tied the knot on June 19, 1999 and now share two children, Lady Louise Windsor, 20, and James, Earl of Wessex, 16.
As they celebrate 25 years of wedded bliss, the couple now appear stronger than ever after anything but a smooth ride as two of the most popular members of the Royal Family.
Known for their low-key approach to royal life, the pair have opted to live a life majorly away from the royal spotlight – although they are never far away when it comes to helping King Charles and Queen Camilla in their roles in the monarchy.
Here, Express.co.uk reminiscences on the couple’s special day and all the memories from 1999 that they are likely to be looking back on today.
The official start of their wedding story began on when they announced their engagement on January 6, 1999. Prince Edward popped the question to Sophie with a stunning Asprey and Garrard white gold ring featuring a two-carat oval diamond surrounded by two heart-shaped gemstones and rumoured to be worth £105,000. Sophie worked in public relations when she met her future husband in 1993. Sophie was leading the publicity for the Prince’s Real Tennis Challenge event – where Edward was in attendance.
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According to royal expert Ingrid Seward, Edward “surreptitiously” asked for Sophie’s phone number that night in 1993 – and the rest is history. Edward reportedly told reporters – after their engagement was leaked by The Sun: “It’s impossible to understand why it has taken me this long, but I don’t think it would have been right before, and I don’t think she would have said yes.” Their wedding took place on June 19, 1999 – around five months after announcing their engagement.
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Prince Edward and Sophie had a relatively simple Royal Wedding, with no ceremonial state or military involvement – a wish voiced by the couple. The ceremony was mainly a family occasion. Their wedding took place at St George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle – the same venue that his nephew, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle got married almost two decades later. Edward was bestowed the Earl of Wessex hours before the ceremony – a title now held by the couple’s son James.
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Members of the Royal Family were invited to celebrate the wedding of Prince Edward and Sophie. Edward’s two brothers, the now-King Charles and Prince Andrew, both served as his supporters – which is the royal equivalent of ‘best man’. The couple’s low-key nuptials saw only 500 guests in attendance, with a later 5pm ceremony and a request from Sophie that women need not wear hats. Then then-Prime Minister Tony Blair and other politicians were not invited.
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As well as the older royals, many of the younger royals attended Sophie and Edward’s wedding in 1999. A young Prince Harry and Prince William – who were aged 17 and 15 at the time – were pictured attending, alongside Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie. The couple chose Camilla Hadden and Olivia Taylor, who were children of their friends – to serve flower girls and two other commoners named Felix Sowerbutts and Harry Warburton to act as the page boys.
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