He met Sophie Rhys-Jones, then a PR consultant, at a Real Tennis event. The couple married on June 19, 1999, at St George’s Chapel, Windsor, with a continental-style evening service for which guests were asked not to wear hats.
They became the Earl and Countess of Wessex, going on to have two children: Lady Louise Mountbatten-Windsor, 20, and James, 16 and now the Earl of Wessex.
After the death of Elizabeth II, the couple became the Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh on Edward’s 59th birthday, in line with his parents’ expressed wishes.
The couple are now key members of the recently slimmed-down Royal family, credited with their day-to-day work around the country.
Aside from the Prince and Princess of Wales, who has been receiving chemotherapy and has only made one public appearance in 2024, the Edinburghs are the youngest working members of the family.
At the time of their wedding, Prince Edward said: “We manage to have a good laugh about things most of the time and we happen to love each other, which is the most important thing of all.”
The late Queen and Prince Philip were married for 73 years, making them the longest-married royal couple in British history.
The King, Duke of York and Princess Royal each divorced their first spouses. The King and Princess Anne are now happily married second time around, to Queen Camilla and Vice Admiral Sir Tim Laurence respectively.
Princess Anne and Sir Tim have been married the longest, at 31 years.