Duchess Sophie and Prince Edward are marking a special day.
On Tuesday, January 6, GB News reported that the Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh celebrated 27 years since their engagement was announced to the public.
The pair – whose marriage is regarded as “one of the most enduring unions within the modern British Royal Family – announced their engagement on January 6, 1999, in the lush gardens of St. James’s Palace, where Sophie proudly flaunted her sparkling ring.
According to royal expert Ingrid Seward who spoke to the BBC, the key to Edward and Sophie’s lasting marriage was their five-year long relationship before they tied the knot, providing them with an opportunity to discover “anything they didn’t like about each other.”
Prince Edward – who began dating Duchess Sophie back in 1993 – proposed the Duchess in December 1998 on a private romantic trip to the Caribbean, reserving Hamilton House, a quiet four-bedroom villa on the remote Bahamian island of Eleuthera.
"Sophie was stunned and could scarcely speak the word 'yes' before finding her voice and replying, 'Yes, please!'" wrote royal biographer Sean Smith of the Duchess’s reaction to the surprise proposal in his biographical book, titled Sophie.
Notably, unlike his other siblings, whose marriages ended in divorce, including King Charles III, Princess Anne, and ex-Prince Andrew, Prince Edward has maintained a long-lasting and stable partnership.
The Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh tied the knot on June 19, 1999, just a few months after their engagement.
