Prince Edward and Sophie Star in New Photo to Celebrate 25th Wedding Anniversary
King Charles' youngest brother and sister-in-law have stepped up as important working members of the royal family
Prince Edward and Sophie, the Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh, are celebrating a relationship milestone.
The royal couple is marking their 25th wedding anniversary on June 19, celebrating the occasion with the release of a new photo. Prince Edward and Sophie posed for the snap taken on June 10 by photographer Chris Jelf in the gardens of Bagshot Park, the country royal residence about 10 miles south of Windsor where they live.
Prince Edward, 60, and Sophie, 59, tied the knot in 1999 at St. George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle — the same venue where Prince Harry and Meghan Markle as well as Princess Eugenie and Jack Brooksbank exchanged vows in 2018.
The bride wore an ivory silk organza wedding dress by designer Samantha Shaw with a crystal beaded veil. For her tiara, Sophie wore a previously unseen piece from the Crown Jewel collection made up of four detachable diamond anthemions believed to have been taken from one of Queen Victoria’s famous crowns.
Sophie also accessorized her bridal look with special gifts from the groom that he had a hand in designing: pearl earrings and a matching cross necklace. The royal regularly reaches for the pieces, including wearing the earrings at the Commonwealth Day service in 2023.
King Charles' youngest sibling and sister-in-law have stepped up in recent years as key members of the royal family. The number of working royals has significantly slimmed down in recent years in the wake of Prince Harry and Meghan stepping back from their royal roles as well as Prince Andrew's "step back from public duties" amid his ties to Jeffrey Epstein.
This year, King Charles and Kate Middleton's cancer treatments have also kept them largely out of the public eye, calling for other royals to make appearances representing the monarchy.
Prince Edward and Sophie have recently taken on prominent outings, from viewing a statue of Queen Elizabeth to attending a special parade in honor of the 120th anniversary of a key diplomatic agreement between the U.K. and France known as the "entente cordiale."
Sophie also visited Ukraine in April, becoming the first member of the British royal family to travel to the country since Russia invaded in 2022.
They've also been a reassuring presence within the family. At Queen Elizabeth's funeral in 2022, a guest at the funeral said Sophie was "incredible."
"I saw her putting her arm around three or four people," lawyer Pranav Bhanot told PEOPLE. "It felt like she was really the glue keeping everyone quite strong today."
Sophie was also pictured at Trooping the Colour on June 15 putting a reassuring hand on her nephew Prince William's back. The event celebrating King Charles' official birthday marked the first time that the Prince of Wales' wife, Princess Kate, joined the royal family for an outing since Christmas amid her cancer treatment.
On Prince Edward's 59th birthday in March 2023, King Charles made the couple — previously known as the Earl and Countess of Wessex — the new Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh. The titles come with extra special and sentimental meaning, as the monikers previously belonged to Edward's late parents, Prince Philip (who used the title until he died in 2021) and Queen Elizabeth (who was known as the Duchess of Edinburgh before she became monarch).
The couple — who are parents to Lady Louise, 20, and James, Earl of Wessex, 16 — visited Edinburgh for the first time with their new titles shortly after the announcement, with Edward calling it a "very special and slightly overwhelming day."
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Prince Edward and Sophie's anniversary comes amid a busy royal week. The couple joined King Charles and other members of the royal family at Trooping the Colour on June 15 and again for Garter Day on June 17.
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