Prince Edward and Sophie, Countess of Wessex, may have one of the most stable marriages
in the royal family, but it hasn’t always been easy.
If you thought Harry and Meghan’s Oprah interview was shocking, just wait until you
hear about the “Sophie Tapes.”
It seems like a lot of people in lasting marriages agree — when you know, you know.
But for Prince Edward and Sophie, Countess of Wessex, their initial meeting did not result
in sparks or butterflies.
The two initially crossed paths in 1987 when they met at Capital Radio.
Sophie and Edward met through a friend of hers whom Edward was dating at the time, so
nothing romantic happened between them for some time.
It'd be another six years before Edward and Sophie would meet again, and so many things
changed for the royal family at that time.
The early 1990s wreaked havoc on royal marriages.
From Prince Charles and Diana Spencer to Princess Anne and Captain Mark Phillips to Prince Andrew
and Sarah Ferguson — all the royal romances seemed to collapse in real time.
Cue Sophie and Edward, who, now both single, started a relationship in 1993 after seeing
each other at a charity event.
While it reportedly wasn't love at first sight, these two would be in it for the long haul.
Every couple goes through their rough patches, and believe it or not, Prince Edward and Sophie
almost didn't make it.
The mid-1990s proved to be difficult for the couple, as they were allegedly "precariously
close" to calling it quits just one year into their romance.
Ingrid Seward, a royal expert and author of the book Prince Edward, wrote that a number
of arguments started to take a toll on the couple, and that, by 1994, their relationship
began to unravel.
Seward wrote:
"Like all couples, there were moments when the effort of adjusting led to rows and disagreements
and, in the summer of 1994, they came precariously close to parting."
So, what pulled the couple through the tough times?
The solution was, in part, thanks to Sophie's tenacity.
Seward noted that Edward had not only witnessed all of his siblings suffer through separations
and divorces, but he himself was also recovering from a bit of a bachelor reputation.
It was thanks to Sophie's dedication and desire to not let the relationship "flounder" that
she and the prince made it through.
When it came time for Sophie to dazzle Queen Elizabeth — let's just say she reportedly
fell a bit flat.
In her book Prince Edward, Ingrid Seward revealed that the queen didn't take to the future Countess
of Wessex very kindly.
She reportedly thought that Prince Edward's love interest didn't command much attention.
Seward wrote:
"The queen, cloaked in her majesty dignity, can be chillingly imperious in her disapprov[al],
and her first appraisal of Sophie was disconcerting in the extreme."
Seward also added that the monarch's initial comment regarding Sophie was,
"You wouldn't notice her in a crowd."
What the queen may have not realized at the time, however, was that Sophie's "sensible
and low-key approach" may have been the best thing for the royal family.
At the time, Diana Spencer was in the headlines for less-than-flattering reasons.
"I'd like to be a queen of people's hearts, in people's hearts, but I don't see myself
being queen of this country."
With time, the queen began to take to Sophie quite fondly.
Seward even noted that if Elizabeth had really wanted Edward to pursue a romantic relationship
with someone else she would've made it impossible for him and Sophie to be together.
Despite their rough patches, Prince Edward and Sophie continued to move forward with
their relationship.
According to Vanity Fair, the couples' friends concluded that Sophie and Edward's opposite
personalities helped their relationship grow.
Additionally, their blossoming dynamic was detailed by authors Garth Gibbs and Sean Smith
in their book, Sophie's Kiss.
Some people were surprised that two individuals like Sophie and Edward hit it off, but mutual
friends saw the pairing as mutually beneficial.
A friend shared with the authors:
"Sophie is good fun, a laugh, attractive, and the sort of girl most men would enjoy
chatting with [and] Edward is serious, quiet.
[...] But when Edward's with Sophie, he becomes good fun, too.
It's extraordinary the effect she has on him."
When you've been romantically involved with someone for a while, questions about proposing
seem to catch on like wildfire.
Members of the press asked Edward "multiple times" if he was going to pop the question,
and it's clear the scrutiny got to him.
In a bit of an outburst, according to Express, he reportedly said:
"If you shut up, mind your own business and let me do it when I want, it's much more likely
to happen.
[...] The more people second-guess, the less likely it is I just won't do it."
What was aiding Edward's grief over the matter?
No doubt it was the lack of privacy that he and Sophie endured as part of their lives
as royals.
"We've all been through there.
We've all had that same spotlight shown on our lives."
Despite the pressure Prince Edward clearly felt on a regular basis, he finally asked
Sophie to marry him in 1999.
Edward and Sophie were "thrilled" to announce the news, as were Queen Elizabeth and Prince
Phillip.
At the time of the engagement announcement, no further details about the impending nuptials
were shared, but Edward and Sophie did express their desire to get married at St. George's
Chapel.
An official statement from Buckingham Palace revealed that Edward and Sophie sought permission
to get engaged by both sets of their parents over the Christmas holiday of the previous
year, and they made a point of keeping their engagement under wraps until all parents could
give their consent.
As for the ring?
Edward got down on one knee with an engagement ring from Asprey Garrard, which featured three
diamonds "in a modern setting".
Royal weddings truly feel like social events of the year, or even the decade, but Prince
Edward and Sophie, Countess of Wessex, decided to go for a bit of a toned-down version of
events.
The couple's "jubilant celebration" was far more of a joyous occasion than an overtly
formal occasion, although it still managed to generate about 200 million television viewers
around the world.
What else made it significantly different from other royal weddings?
Well, it did not feature any military or state involvement, which was certainly a shift from
tradition.
As for Sophie's dress, because we know you want the details, she opted for a silk organza
gown from designer Samantha Keswick.
The simple, yet effective, gown was ordained with 325,000 pearls and crystals, and she
paired her wedding day look with the Anthemion tiara.
Photos from the day show the happy couple, accompanied by then-teenagers William and
Prince Harry, as well as the queen, of course.
If you consider yourself a bit of a royal expert, or just a fan of all things British
monarchy, then you'll know that royal engagements seem to occur out of nowhere.
"And this is how long after you first met?"
"Uh, it would be a year and a half?
Two?
A little bit more than that?"
"No, just about a year and a half."
But, for Prince Edward and Sophie, their courtship and dating life spanned about half a decade.
Sophie recalled to The Sunday Times that the time they took made all the difference, sharing:
"I'd had five years to adjust."
During the interview, Sophie was positioned to ruminate on Harry and Meghan's timeline
in comparison to her own.
She admitted that the time spent actually dating Edward and being engaged to him made
her adjustment to royal life far easier than Meghan and Harry's experience.
Sophie shared with The Sunday Times:
"For our six-month engagement I was even staying in Buckingham Palace.
[...] Not that you necessarily know how it will pan out."
Prince Edward and Sophie, Countess of Wessex, are definitely rising in popularity, but you
might be surprised to find out they stumbled quite a bit when they first got married.
Their floundering was quite surprising, given that Sophie co-owned a public relations firm
at the time, but, nevertheless, their first months of marriage weren't easy.
The newlywed couple first came under fire when it became public that they had included
a $99,270 tea set on their wedding registry.
Then, of course, were the infamous "Sophie Tapes," which were secretly-recorded conversations
involving Sophie and her then-business partner, Murray Harkin.
From Murray's alleged drug use to Edward's sexuality to even supposed business deals
in development to "cash in on their position" as royals, the tapes did not show Sophie or
her business partner in a favorable light.
To make matters worse, Sophie had also railed on the royal family members, from Prince Charles
to Camilla Parker Bowles, during the recorded conversations.
Prince Edward and Sophie may have had some pretty big slip-ups in the early months of
their marriage, but all the fervor and judgment seemingly melted away when Sophie's life was
in jeopardy.
As noted by the Daily Mail, Sophie's birth experience with the couple's first child,
Lady Louise Windsor, was so horrific that it has impacted her life ever since.
It was November 2003, a month before her due date, and everything about Sophie's pregnancy
seemed to be going smoothly.
Edward jumped on a plane to Mauritius for an official, but seemingly normal, royal visit.
But, soon after Edward's departure, Sophie began experiencing pain in her abdominal area.
Sophie experienced a placental abruption, which led her to undergo an emergency C-section.
The birth experience, according to a friend of the countess, left her scarred.
They shared with the Daily Mail:
"It was utterly traumatic, and in some ways Sophie has never got over it."
Prince Edward and Sophie successfully welcomed their daughter into the world, despite the
horrific circumstances surrounding her birth.
By the time their son was born in 2007, Sophie and Edward's relationship had emerged more
in the public eye.
They soon began to "mature" into their roles as senior, full-time royals.
For Sophie, the shift marked a significant change in her life.
Unlike some other spouses who married into the royal family, Sophie had a successful
professional career before joining The Firm, and, as such, she had to shift her perspective
on what it meant to be a working royal.
She spoke with The Sunday Times about this shift, saying:
"I had to reduce my expectations of what I could actually do [and] I had to take a really
big step back and go, '[Okay], they want you to be the icing on the cake, the person to
come in to thank their volunteers and funders, not necessarily to tell them how to run their
communications plan."
While Prince Edward and Sophie, Countess of Wessex, are rising stars within the royal
family, they have made it a priority to keep their two children out of the spotlight.
Lady Louise Windsor and James Viscount Severn, may be pictured from time to time, but Edward
and Sophie certainly seem to respect their children's privacy.
After all, being the grandchild of Queen Elizabeth is already a significant title to wear.
However, Edward and Sophie did such a good job keeping their kids away from the hustle
and bustle of royal life that their daughter, Louise, didn't even realize her grandmother
was, in fact, the queen of England.
In an interview with Sky News, Sophie shared that when Louise was younger, she had, quote,
"no concept" of her grandmother's occupation.
The countess explained that her young daughter didn't realize the queen of England and her
grandmother were the same person, and it was only when she attended school that it started
to click for her.
Sophie added:
"Other children were mentioning it and saying, 'Your gran is the Queen.'
[...] And she'd come home and say, 'Mummy they say that Grandmama is the Queen.'
And I said, 'Yes,' and she said, 'I don't understand what they mean.'"
It seems as though the royal family is changing in real time.
From Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's departure to Prince Philip's death, the dynamics in
one of the most storied institutions are shifting rapidly.
As such, Prince Edward and his wife, Sophie, Countess of Wessex, have stepped up in a big
way.
One such occasion where Edward took the lead was at the opening of the General Synod in
November 2021.
The opening is a prominent day for the Church of England, and it was surprising that Queen
Elizabeth sent Edward in her place.
But, nevertheless, her youngest son stepped up and filled in for her at the storied event.
"Unfortunately the pandemic has slightly slewed things in as much as, it's hard to spend as
much time with the Queen."
With two kids, changing royal responsibilities, and, of course, the public eye, you might
wonder where things stand between Prince Edward and Sophie, Countess of Wessex, today.
We're happy to report that the couple seems to be just as happy with each other now as
they were when they got married.
In fact, they recently celebrated the 23rd anniversary of their engagement.
According to Hello!, Edward and Sophie couldn't stop gushing about each other when they announced
their engagement, and what they said truly is worth revisiting.
Remarking that he didn't know why it took him so long to propose, Edward said of his
now-wife,
"We are the very best of friends and that's essential but it also helps that we also love
each other very much."
Of her now-husband, Sophie also chimed:
"I think we share a number of interests, we laugh a lot and we have a great friendship."
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