'WE ARE THE VERY BEST OF FRIENDS AND THAT'S ESSENTIAL'

THE EARL AND COUNTESS OF WESSEX ARE A BEACON OF STABILITY DURING A TURBULENT TIME FOR THE ROYAL FAMILY

As the tremors from Prince Harry’s bombshell interviews continue to shake the royal family, the Earl and Countess of Wessex remain a beacon of stability.

In June they will celebrate their 24th wedding anniversary, having tied the knot at St George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle in 1999, as Prince Harry and Meghan Markle would go on to do in 2018. Prince Edward is the only one of Queen Elizabeth II’s children not to have divorced and remarried.

The couple, who are devoted parents to Lady Louise Windsor, 19, and James, Viscount Severn, 15, have largely avoided scandal by settling into their roles as working royals with a low-key approach. Despite plans for a slimmed-down monarchy, they remain an integral part of King Charles’ inner circle and have increasingly represented the Firm at official engagements, including the first Royal Variety Show without Queen Elizabeth.

Sophie, who is expected to celebrate her 58th birthday quietly at home on 20 January, has served the public for more than two decades with little fanfare. She completed 290 duties – 132 of them abroad – last year, while Edward, 58, made 272. Their partnership is so dependable it harks to that of Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip, a bond the couple have always admired.

“I think it must be a fairly lonely place being the Queen,” the countess previously said of her mother-in-law during an interview with This Morning. “As a female in the top job, it’s important I think to have somebody that you can lean on, that you can discuss things with, that you can be open and honest with behind closed doors. For her to have found somebody like him [Philip], I don’t think she could have chosen better. And they make each other laugh, which I think is half of a battle, isn’t it?”