Duchess of Edinburgh and Prince Edward embrace in heartwarming new photo to mark milestone

Edward is pictured with his arms around Sophie’s waist, with the duchess’s hands resting on her husband’s, and their heads close together.

The couple are dressed down in the relaxed shot taken by photographer Chris Jelf in the gardens of their Bagshot Park home in Surrey, with Sophie’s tan suede jacket complementing the colour of Edward’s tweed gilet.

Last year the duchess made her husband very emotional and forced him to wipe away tears when she paid tribute to him on his birthday.

The duchess began by commenting on the likeness between the duke and his father, Prince Philip.

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She said: "Now I know from the many years of marriage we have chalked up, 25 years in June to be precise, he will be horrified at seeing me up here speaking about him in public.

"Without looking at him, I am guessing he will now be sitting back with slightly narrowed eyes, possibly with his arms folded, or one arm stretched out across the table and to all intents and purposes looking identical to his father when I made speeches about him."

In a television interview, Edward described his wife as his "rock", adding: "I’m incredibly lucky that I found Sophie and that she found me."

The couple became engaged in 1999 after reportedly dating from 1993; both the duke and duchess were 34-years-old when the engagement was announced.

The Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh share two children: Lady Louise and James, Earl of Wessex.

They welcomed their daughter Lady Louise on 8 November 2003 and had their second child, James, on 17 December 2007.

Prince Edward has stepped up his royal duties as the King continues cancer treatment and suspends public-facing engagements.

Aside from the Prince of Wales, and Kate, who is continuing her treatment, Edward, 60, and Sophie, 59, are the youngest members of the working monarchy.

Charles handed his youngest brother his late father’s Duke of Edinburgh title on his 59th birthday in 2023, in keeping with the late Queen and Philip’s wishes.

In April, the duchess became the first member of the royal family to visit Ukraine since the start of the Russian invasion.

She met President Volodymyr Zelensky and First Lady Olena Zelenska to discuss how to support survivors of conflict-related sexual violence.