Who Is Prince Edward's Wife? All About Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh

Prince Edward, the Duke of Edinburgh first met his future wife, Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh in 1987.

After several years of dating, Sophie, a former public relations exec from Oxford, England, married Queen Elizabeth's youngest child in 1999. Upon their union, they received the titles Earl and Countess of Wessex and later became full-time working members of the royal family.

In the years since, both Sophie and Edward have dedicated their lives to charitable work, first on behalf of Edward's mother, Queen Elizabeth, and now on behalf of his brother, King Charles. Despite her position in the royal family, Sophie has made it clear that her two children, Lady Louise and James, Earl of Wessex, will make their own way in the world.

"We try to bring them up with the understanding that they are very likely to have to work for a living," she told the Sunday Times. "Hence we made the decision not to use HRH titles. They have them and can decide to use them from 18, but it's highly unlikely."

In 2023, Sophie became the Duchess of Edinburgh on her husband's 59th birthday, when King Charles named his younger brother the Duke of Edinburgh (the royal title previously belonged to their father, Prince Philip, who died in April 2021). Shortly after, Sophie stepped out at one of her first royal events with her new title while wearing a very special accessory — the black-and-white pearl drop earrings Prince Edward gave her for their wedding day in 1999.

From her life before meeting Prince Edward to how she's supported the royal family through hard times, here's everything to know about Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh.

She was born in Oxford

Born Sophie Helen Rhys-Jones on Jan. 20, 1965, Sophie was raised in Oxford by her parents, Mary and Christopher Bournes Rhys-Jones. Her mother was a charity worker and secretary, while her father worked as a sales director.

Sophie attended Dulwich Preparatory School and Kent College before enrolling at West Kent College for security training.

She had a career in public relations

After training as a secretary, Sophie began working in public relations. She worked at Capital Radio, a popular radio network in the U.K., for four years before working at several other companies.

In 1996, she launched her own PR agency, RJH Public Relations, with her business partner, Murray Harkin. Sophie and Edward both left their jobs in 2002 to support the royal family full-time.

She met Edward at work

Sophie first met her future husband in 1987, while she was working at Capital Radio and he was dating her friend, according to the BBC. They crossed paths again in 1993 during a promotional shoot for the Prince Edward Summer Challenge.

Sophie was working for the PR agency hired to coordinate the photo shoot, and after a celebrity guest backed out, she was recruited as a model to pose on a tennis court with the royal.

"Nobody knew that there was an attraction between them that day," Sally Jones, a tennis champion who was present at the shoot, recalled to PEOPLE in 1999. "But Edward always had an eye for a bright girl — and Sophie is bright, sparky and fun."

Their first date, which included tennis and dinner at Buckingham Palace, took place soon after.

She has been married to Edward since 1999

Edward proposed to Sophie while on vacation in the Bahamas in December 1998, and they announced their engagement on Jan. 6, 1999.

"I managed to take her completely by surprise. She had no idea that it was coming, which is what I really wanted to do," Prince Edward said in video footage shared by the Associated Press. "I mean, trouble is, everybody always speculating made it very difficult. Every time there was another round of speculation, I had to go very quiet again."

Sophie added of the surprise proposal, "I was slightly stunned for a minute, and then I realized I should actually answer the question, so then I said yes. I said, 'Yes, please.' "

On June 19, 1999, they married at St. George's Chapel at Windsor Castle with an estimated 200 million viewers tuning into the broadcast worldwide. Unlike previous royal weddings, the couple requested that their special day not be a state occasion, and their 560 guests were mainly friends and relatives.

On the day of their wedding, Edward was named Earl of Wessex and Sophie was made the Countess of Wessex. They honeymooned at Balmoral Castle in Scotland.

She is a mother of two

On Nov. 8, 2003, Sophie gave birth to her and Edward's first child, daughter Lady Louise Alice Elizabeth Mary Mountbatten-Windsor, at Frimley Park Hospital in Frimley, England. Since Louise arrived prematurely, Prince Edward missed her birth because he was on an official visit to Mauritius.

About a month ahead of her due date, Sophie experienced a placental abruption and had an emergency cesarean section. As a precaution, Louise was transferred to a neonatal unit at St. George's Hospital in London. Her early arrival also resulted in Louise having esotropia, an eye condition where one or both eyes turns inward, prompting Sophie to take an interest in charitable work with premature infants and avoidable blindness.

Sophie and Prince Edward's second child, James Alexander Philip Theo Mountbatten-Windsor, was born on Dec. 17, 2007, at Frimley Park Hospital. James is the youngest grandchild of the late Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip and was styled as Viscount Severn at birth. He became the Earl of Wessex on March 10, 2023, after his father assumed the Duke of Edinburgh title.

Despite being younger than his sister, James is 14th in line to the throne and Louise is 15th, as they were both born before the Succession to the Crown Act 2013. The act ended the system of male primogeniture for those born after Oct. 28, 2011, meaning that birth order, regardless of gender, now determines the order of succession.

Instead of being styled as Prince or Princess or as His or Her Royal Highness, both Lady Louise and James, Earl of Wessex, are styled as the children of a duke. If they wish, they can choose to adopt royal titles when they turn 18, according to the 1917 Letters Patent. This decreed that all children of the monarch's heirs have princely status and can opt to use the designation His or Her Royal Highness.

After Prince Edward's death, the Duke of Edinburgh title will revert to the crown since it is not hereditary and will not be inherited by his children.

She became the Duchess of Edinburgh in 2023

On his birthday in 2023, Edward was made the Duke of Edinburgh, and Sophie became the Duchess of Edinburgh, a title previously held by her late mother-in-law, Queen Elizabeth.

Sophie and Edward debuted their new titles by meeting with members of Scotland's Ukrainian community at Edinburgh's City Chambers, marking one year since the city's formal response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The couple met with families who have made the city their home since conflict emerged in Ukraine in 2022.

"Thank you very much indeed for welcoming us to Edinburgh today on, indeed, a very special and slightly overwhelming day," Edward told the crowd. He referred to Sophie as his "wife and Duchess," eliciting laughs from the crowd.

"But I also want to express my thanks to everyone who has worked so hard to make our Ukraine friends feel so very welcome," he added.

She is passionate about charity work

The Duchess of Edinburgh serves as patron of more than 70 organizations and charities, according to the palace, and has undertaken hundreds of engagements annually since becoming a full-time working member of the royal family. Sophie has focused on charities related to sight loss and avoidable blindness, frontline workers, gender equality and accessibility.

"She has a simple connection with people when she meets patients and families," a former staffer told PEOPLE. "I think of it as scattering magic dust."

She was close with Queen Elizabeth

Sophie's passion for family and charity work was admired by the late Queen and helped them develop a close relationship over the years. Queen Elizabeth regularly asked her daughter-in-law to join her for the church at Sandringham and would invite Sophie's father, who was widowed in 2005, to Balmoral Castle in the summers.

"They are very close," a royal source told PEOPLE. Sophie "is very family orientated, and the Queen appreciates that."

A guest who attended the state funeral of the late monarch told PEOPLE that Sophie was a huge support to the royal family as they mourned the Queen.

"The Countess of Wessex was incredible. I saw her putting her arm around three or four people," lawyer Pranav Bhanot told PEOPLE. "It felt like she was really the glue keeping everyone quite strong today."

In one touching moment after the service, Sophie placed a reassuring arm around Prince George. As the eldest child of Princess Kate and Prince William, George became second in line to the throne following the Queen's death.

"She really seemed to be the person keeping the family together," Bhanot explained. "There were a few bishops who started crying when they saw the Queen and she was kind of comforting them, even though she is the direct family member."

She attended King Charles' coronation in May 2023

On May 6, 2023, Sophie attended King Charles' coronation alongside her husband. She wore a bespoke handcrafted cream gown by Suzannah London underneath her Royal Victoria Order Mantle.

Designer Suzannah Crabb told PEOPLE that she wanted Sophie's dress to be "unique, iconic, but in a quiet way." Crabb incorporated "gentle British touches," including floral embroidery inspired by London-based ceramic artist Rachel Dein.

"I've heard she's thrilled," the fashion designer said. "The reaction from everyone has been incredible; it was a joyous event."