Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh is one of the most popular and valued members of the Royal Family and she and Prince Edward take on high-profile engagements and overseas engagements on a regular basis. But how did all of this start? How did Sophie-Rhys Jones, a PR professional with no royal connections in her past, end up meeting and falling in love with a real-life Prince?
Well, according to author Sean Smith’s book, Sophie: Saving the Royal Family, their courtship, as it were, started on the court. The tennis court. And it was here where Sophie reportedly served up a masterful "trump card" that helped move their relationship along.
In 1993, the same year Prince Edward had launched his TV production company, Ardent, he also launched the Prince Edward Summer Challenge to raise money for charity. It was during a promotion shoot for this that he would meet Sophie, who was then working for MacLaurin Communications and Media.
After former professional tennis star Sue Baker reportedly bowed out of a promotional shoot for the campaign, Sophie was recruited to step in, posing with Edward on the tennis court.
"There was no mistaking the chemistry that was between them right from the word go," her former boss Brian MacLaurin later alleged, as reported byVanity Fair.
Sophie is said to have given Edward her phone number "in case there were any problems with the challenge" and it wasn't until a few months later that Prince Edward reportedly rang "out of the blue".
His supposed offer, the book claims? To join him "for a game of real tennis and perhaps a bite of supper afterwards at the palace".
According to the biography, Duchess Sophie "did not really know much about real tennis," but Prince Edward "was happy to knock a few balls about" while explaining it.
The two were allegedly "able to relax immediately in each other's company" and it was during this tennis outing that Sophie apparently served up her "trump card" - something that helped cement their bond and guarantee some future dates.
Sean Smith claimed that the now-Duchess of Edinburgh’s "trump card" involved her "suggesting she should take some proper lessons so that she could give the prince a 'real' game". This clever move worked, with the author alleging that it led to Edward’s "natural shyness melting".
The rest, as they say, is history. The couple were married on June 19, 1999 at St George's Chapel at Windsor Castle, and share their two children, Lady Louise Windsor and James, Earl of Wessex.
"If the biography's reports are indeed correct, then it's a testament to Duchess Sophie's talent for putting people at ease - and we see this so much when she's undertaking engagements too," says woman&home's Royal Editor, Emma Shacklock. "Perhaps she honed it when she was working in PR, but I do think that it just comes naturally to her. She comes across as such a warm, empathetic person, so who couldn't feel less shy in her company?"
