Inside the love story of Prince Edward and Sofia, Duchess of Edinburgh

It’s been 24 years since Prince Edward and Sophie Rhys-Jones tied the knot in St George’s Chapel Windsor after a whirlwind five-year relationship.

The 59-year-old Duke of Edinburgh, who is the youngest son of the late Queen and Prince Philip, first met Sophie in 1987 when he was working in public relations for Capital Radio.

But their wholesome story really began after a second meeting six years later, when Sophie, now 58, was in charge of publicity for Edward’s Real Tennis Challenge.

Two children and more than two decades of marriage later, Prince Edward is the only one of the Queen’s siblings who has never been divorced.

So what is the secret to their enduring love story? Here FEMAIL looks inside the happy marriage of the Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh…

After celebrating their 24th birthday in June, Prince Edward and Sophie, who have two children, Lady Louise Windsor, 19, and James, Viscount Severn, 15, have gone from strength to strength (pictured in 2022 )

Their first date is said to have been a tennis match followed by dinner at Buckingham Palace.

After celebrating their 24th birthday in June, Prince Edward and Sophie, who have two children Lady Louise Windsor, 19, and James, Viscount Severn, 15, have gone from strength to strength.

During the beginning of their courtship, the couple has been pressured to get engaged.

Edward issued a statement saying: “I am taking this unusual step of writing to you directly in hopes of preventing your reporters and photographers from destroying that part of my life that I have the right to consider private and, more importantly, Sophie’s life. “.

Edward grew increasingly weary as he was asked multiple times if he was going to propose, reportedly telling a Radio Times reporter: “If you just shut up, mind your own business and let me do it whenever I want, it’s much more likely to happen.’

It was alleged that the late Diana, Princess of Wales’s interview in Panorama the previous year had stalled any earlier engagement attempts and that the Prince had decided to wait.

During a holiday in the Bahamas in December 1998, Prince Edward finally proposed to his long-time girlfriend, Sophie, with an engagement ring from Asprey and Garrard, worth an estimated £105,000.

In 2007, the couple also welcomed their second son, James, at the same hospital, this time with a much easier delivery.

Prince Edward and Sophie on the balcony of Buckingham Palace during Trooping the Color in June 2023

They announced their engagement the following month, in January 1999, when they were both 34 years old.

Asked why it took so long for the royals to propose, Edward told reporters: “It’s impossible to understand why it’s taken me so long, but I don’t think it would have been right before, and I don’t think so.” she would have said yes.

On June 19, 1999, the Queen’s youngest son married his bride in a relatively low-key celebration attended by 500 guests at St George’s Chapel in Windsor.

There was state or military ceremonial participation. Even so, 200 million viewers tuned in to watch the event on television.

The couple welcomed their children in 2003 and 2007, opting to stray from royal protocol and welcome them at Frimley Park NHS Hospital in Surrey.

Prince Edward pictured chatting with Sophie Rhys-Jones at the Royal Tennis Marathon during the early stages of their relationship in December 1993.

Prince Edward and his then girlfriend Sophie Rhys Jones aboard the Royal Yacht Brittania in Cowes in July 1994

Giving birth to Lady Louise was a difficult experience for Sophie, who underwent an emergency caesarean section a month before she was due.

The official announcement at the time read: ‘Her Royal Highness and her daughter are stable. As a purely precautionary measure, the baby was transferred to the regional neonatal unit at St George’s Hospital, Tooting.

Sophie herself lost nine pints of blood from internal bleeding.

While baby Louise received specialist care at St George’s Hospital, Sophie stayed 35 miles away at Frimley Hospital for a further 16 days.

In 2007, the couple also welcomed their second son, James, at the same hospital, this time with a much easier delivery.

Fifteenth in line to the throne and the youngest grandson of the late Queen Elizabeth II, he was born James Alexander Philip Theo Mountbatten-Windsor in Surrey on December 17.

The Prince and his escort arriving at the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award Christmas party in 1995

Sophie Rhys-Jones and Prince Edward smiled for photographers on the grounds of St. James’s Palace during their engagement announcement in January 1999.

When he was born, James (whom his father described as “very cute and very cuddly”) was eighth in line to the throne.

When Prince Edward married Sophie, they made the decision that future children would have courtesy titles rather than being called Prince or Princess, to which the late monarch agreed.

James’ styling as Viscount Severn (one of his father’s subsidiary titles) is thought to have been chosen to recognize Sophie’s Welsh heritage because the name comes from the River Severn in Wales.

The now Edinburghs wanted their children to have as normal a life as possible, under the circumstances, without the burden of such titles.

Sophie is fiercely devoted to and protective of her children, having suffered severe medical complications during Louise’s birth and an ectopic pregnancy.

She went through a lot to have her family and she and Edward have never relied on babysitters. They have always had a rule that when they work, one of them is home with the children as much as possible,” says Penny Mountbatten.

Prince Edward, Lady Louise Windsor, James Viscount Severn, Sophie, Duchess of Kent on the balcony of Buckingham Palace during the annual Trooping the Color ceremony on June 15, 2013

Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh, James, Viscount Severn and Lady Louise Windsor react during the Platinum Party at Buckingham Palace on June 4, 2022 as part of the Queen’s Jubilee celebrations.

And because the Queen lived nearby, she spent a lot of time with Louise and James when they were little, often watching Mr. Tumble on CBeebies when they were little.

The couple have become valuable and hard-working senior royals, but that wasn’t always the case; they had a series of run-ins after they got married that saw Sophie bragging to the News of the World’s ‘Fake Sheik’ about her actual PR firm connections.

Edward’s film company, Ardent, then tried to circumvent a ban on filming his nephew, Prince William, at St Andrews University. There was also his disastrous appearance in It’s a Knockout at Alton Towers in June 1987.

Both were criticized for trying to cash in on royal ties. The Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh reportedly received a one-time payment of £250,000 to end their controversial business careers in 2002. It was said to have been passed off as “compensation” for lost income.

James was photographed looking smart during a rare public appearance in May, for the coronation of King Charles.

James (pictured second from left) joined his family and other members of The Firm at the coronation of King Charles.

Sophie was sensationally caught up in a humiliating “sting” operation engineered by the News of the World after speaking to a “Fake Sheik” posing as a potential client. The recorded indiscretions of her about high politicians were very embarrassing.

Since then it has turned around.

The Countess is now the second hardest-working female royal after Anne, and has won praise for her choice of work on preventable blindness and the issue of sexual violence in war.

The fact that Edward and Sophie are awarded the titles of Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh shows how far they have both come after the most rocky start.