19 June 2024 , 15:02
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It's a very special day for the Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh. The happy couple are celebrating their landmark 25th wedding anniversary, marking the occasion with a sweet new snapshot shared with the public.
Prince Edward and Sophie tied the knot in St George's Chapel in Windsor on 19 June 1999. Their big day came after all three of Edward's older siblings had seen their marriages end in divorce - and in 1996, and also in 1996, and and in 1992.
But they went on to defy the odds. The down-to-earth couple are clearly incredibly happy together, and are proud parents to two children, James, now Earl of Wessex, who is currently undertaking his GCSEs and Lady Louise, an English literature student at St Andrews University.
Prince Edward began dating former PR boss Sophie in 1993 after being introduced by a mutual friend several years earlier. He popped the question just before Christmas in 1998, proposing with a .
The couple finally announced their happy news on 6 January 1999 and during their engagement interview, the pair were asked why they get along so well.
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Sophie, then 33, sweetly said: "I think we share a number of interests, we laugh a lot and we have a great friendship."
Her future husband agreed, adding: "We are the very best of friends and that's essential but it also helps that we also love each other very much."
He also shared the surprising reason it had taken him so long to propose. Edward, then 34, said: "It's impossible for anybody else to understand why it has taken me so long. But I don't think it had been right before and I don't think Sophie would have said yes. Hopefully the fact that she has said yes means I've got the timing right."
Their romance has certainly stood the test of time, and the couple's devotion was evident earlier this year when Sophie paid a loving tribute to her husband in honour of his 60th birthday.
Leaving Edward looking deeply emotional, Sophie described the Prince as "the best of fathers and the most loving of husbands and still is my best friend". She sweetly added: "I am so proud of the man he is."
Meanwhile, in a separate television interview, Edward described his wife as his "rock", adding: "I'm incredibly lucky that I found Sophie and that she found me."