20-YEAR LOVE STORY
WHY THE COUPLE ARE TOUTED AS MODERN ROYAL ROLE MODELS
Why Sophie and Edward are modern royal role models
They are the sort of couple you see every day at the school gates. She’s blonde, friendly and a committed charity fundraiser. He’s thin on top, smiley, and enthusiastic about sport and art. In fact, if you lived near the Earl and Countess of Wessex, you actually might meet them dropping off their children or cheering them on at a sports day.
For most of us, this is business as usual. For Prince Edward
(54) and his wife Sophie (53), being normal is a triumph.
“They’ve both experienced the rough side of being royal, the unwanted attention and inability to get on with life,” says a long-term friend. “They are determined their children won’t have to put up with that, so they have slipped as far under the radar as they can while being exceptionally hard-working royals.”
This has taken considerable determination and planning by the couple, who celebrate their
20th wedding anniversary in
June 2019. It’s the only marriage of the Queen’s children that has survived and thrived.
“They are best friends and have an incredibly strong partnership,” tells the friend.
“They aren’t interested in the trimmings of royalty – they have always wanted to lead a normal life since they met playing tennis in the 1990s. They more or less lived together before they married, so they knew what they were getting into.
“Their priorities have always been family and work. That hasn’t changed.”
Two decisions have been key. The first was to give up having an independent career –
Edward in television production and Sophie in PR – to focus instead on supporting the Queen and Prince Philip.
In 2017, they each carried out more royal engagements than princes William and
Harry, Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall. Their workload has shot up more since then too, as Edward has taken over from his elderly father as head of the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award.
“They wanted their own careers, but it was simply impossible to avoid press attention and comment,” adds their friend.
“Eventually, they understood that building a business was incompatible with their royal status. They were naïve but they are not stupid, and they’ve channelled their energy into their children and being working royals.”
Reality finally bit after Edward broke the unwritten code that William should not be bothered when he was studying. He sent a film crew from his company, Ardent Productions, to follow his nephew at St Andrews University.
Sophie, meanwhile, was set up by a British tabloid, who sent in a reporter disguised as a sheikh to tempt her with a major contract. During her indiscreet conversation, she referred to the Queen as “the old dear” and explained that clients might receive additional attention because of her privileged position.
The second major decision was to put family life first. Their children, Lady Louise (15) and James, Viscount Severn (11) are especially precious because of difficulties the couple faced in having them.
First, Sophie suffered an ectopic pregnancy and lost a baby. Then, Louise arrived prematurely. Sophie lost a lot of blood and then discovered that her daughter had a rare eye condition, exotropia – a severe squint that has needed several operations to correct.
Today, Sophie campaigns for charities and medical institutions working to eradicate avoidable blindness, and is patron of the International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness – just one of more than 70 patronages of charities and organisations supporting young people and people with disabilities.
Edward, meanwhile, is patron or vice patron of more than 60 organisations, ranging from ParalympicsGB and the Commonwealth Games Federation to the National Youth Theatre, and a string of orchestras and arts festivals.
The couple also followed Princess Anne in rejecting full royal titles for their children.
“For their sakes, to grow up as normally as possible we felt was quite important,” Sophie explained during a rare BBC interview. “And they’re going to have to go out and get a job and earn a living later on in life – if they’ve had as normal a start in life they possibly can get, then hopefully that will stand them in good stead.”
Normality certainly reigns at home. Sophie does her own hair, recycles her formal clothes and does her own research before engagements, rather than relying on staff. When
they are not away on official engagements, they drive the children to and from school, make their meals and take them riding in the grounds of their Surrey home, Bagshot Hall, and in Windsor Great Park, where they often join their grandmother for a hack.
Both parents share their love of fitness and recent treats have included sailing off the south coast and a mother/daughter visit to see Strictly Come Dancing being filmed.
“It’s the kind of life the Queen lived in the early years of her own marriage,” says a courtier. “She sometimes pops in for tea or goes for a ride with them. She’s especially thrilled that Louise has taken up carriage driving, taking after her grandfather, Prince Philip.”
In fact, the Wessexes have done such a good job at giving their children a normal childhood that they are rarely seen in the news – Louise’s role as special attendant at Princess Eugenie’s wedding in October was an exception.
It even took years before Louise realised that Granny was anything more than the family matriarch.
“It was only when she was coming home from school and saying, ‘Mummy, people keep on telling me that Grandma is the Queen. I don’t understand...’” Sophie remembers.
The monarch is a firm fan of the family unit that Edward and Sophie have created – and of her daughter-in-law, with whom she shares a love of military history.
“The Countess is trusted and relied on by the Queen in a way I couldn’t say applied to the Duchess of Cambridge or the Duchess of Cornwall,” says a royal aide. “She is like another daughter to Her Majesty, they are that close.”
The Queen also admires their quiet work ethic.
“Edward has moulded into a quiet and efficient figure who does not seek attention or acquire headlines. He and Sophie are liked for being dutiful and uncomplaining,” says another courtier.
In the last year, they have travelled to the Baltic States, the US and France among others, while Edward has raised much-needed funds for the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award by playing real tennis at every court in the world.
“They are the perfect modern royals,” says the aide. “Hardworking, unflashy, kind and decent – and great parents too. They could serve as role models for the next generation.”