Prince Edward and the Countess of Wessex are just one of the rare couples nowadays who choose to stay in love for the longest time with the one and only person on their wedding day and it seems Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip can still inspire couples like them. As the time and generation changes, divorce has been like a normal scenario for married couples but seeing the Earl and Countess of Wessex together for 20 years can be quite refreshing, especially as they celebrate it at the annual Royal Ascot.
Looking back on their simple, low-key but memorable wedding day, Prince Edward and Sophie prefer to make the occasion intimate as much as possible. Knowing the Countess of Wessex, she prefers to be hands-on from doing her own hair, sometimes driving herself to official engagements, and even makes her own pre-engagement notes without the traditional help of a lady-in-waiting.
Their wedding on June 19, 1999, was tagged as "informal, family affair" with Sophie requesting the ladies not to wear hats and the gents to wear morning suits preferably in grey. The dress code was simple and comfortable and was assumed to be "the last British royal wedding of the 20th century."
It was at the same St George's Chapel at Windsor Castle where Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's wedding took place, exactly a month to the day after 19 years. Prince Charles and his still-teenage sons, 17-year old Prince William and 15-year old Prince Harry were there along with their cousin, Princess Beatrice who was 11 years old at that time.
Prince Edward, the youngest of Queen Elizabeth II children met Sophie at a tennis match in 1993, with no ceremonial state or military involvement. On her special day, she wore a silk organza Samantha Shaw dress, decorated with 325,000 crystals and pearls and a tiara made up of four open scrollwork motifs which came from the Queen's private collection.
Now, the couple is parents to 15-year-old Lady Louise and 11-year-old James, Viscount Severn, who also joined many members of the royal family for the opening day of Royal Ascot on Tuesday. The Countess of Wessex looks stunning in her patterned dress and matching head topper as she makes a sweet portrait with husband, Prince Edward.
Other royal couples have strayed a bit from having one marriage only like Prince Charles who famously divorced Princess Diana and eventually married Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, who also divorced her first husband, Andrew Parker Bowles and Prince Edward's older sister, Princess Anne, likewise divorced her first husband, Mark Phillips, before marrying Timothy Laurence. His older brother, Prince Andrew, also divorced Sarah Ferguson, though there are recent talks that the couple might be getting back together.
