The Dukes of Edinburgh celebrate 25 years of marriage: the new official photo

They have passed 25 years old from the marriage of Prince Edward, last born son of Queen Elizabeth and her husband Philip, e Sophie Rhys-Jones. To celebrate the silver wedding, a new official photo of what is now the Dukes of Edinburgh has been released, taken in their Bagshot Park residence last 10 June by Chris Jeff.

Informal in the pose, with him encircling her waist, but also in sports clothes, the image quickly went around the web, as did a second photo, published to thank for the good wishes received. “We are so grateful for the many kind and lovely messages we have received on our silver wedding anniversary. We also wish everyone celebrating their anniversary a special day,” they wrote, signing simply Edward & Sophie.

It was the June 19, 1999 when the two said “I do” to each other in St. George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle.

For the royal family it was the first party after Lady Diana’s deathtwo years earlier, and many saw the late Princess of Wales in the young Sophie: same haircut, same colours. «The little saint», he called her Lady D. contemptuously, yet Sophie Rhys-Jones managed to find her place within the royal family: never a scandal, never an episode over the top. She was certainly helped by the fact that she spent the first years away from Windsor, because in her husband’s destiny there were no major commitments to bear, at least on her paper. Edoardo had his brother in front of him Carlo with the two children, and then the Princess Anne and the prince Andrew. In its unpredictability, life then brought the couple to a leading role, thanks to Megxit, which cut Harry off from an active role, and the Epstein scandal which forced the Duke of York into private life.

Edward and Sophie with their children Lady Louise and James, who has the title Viscount Severn.

DANIEL LEAL/Getty Images

The revolution arrived a few years ago, with the two children already grown up (Lady Louise is 20 and her brother James is 16) and the awareness of adult life. For Sophie, however, despite her being Queen Elizabeth’s favorite daughter-in-law, not everything was easy: she herself some time ago he said it took him ten years to get used to life as a royal. Today the uncertainties of the past are only a fond memory, and together with her husband the Duchess is one of the pillars of the monarchy of Charles III: no one could ever do without them.