Prince Edward and Sophie, Countess of Wessex almost split in 1994, according to a royal biographer.
PLAY TO WATCH MORE ROYAL FOOTAGE IN THE VIDEO
The couple celebrated their 20th wedding anniversary on June 19, however, while they were still dating they came “precariously close” to breaking up.
Sophie and Edward first met in 1993 in London at a charity tennis match organised by the Prince.
And according to Ingrid Steward’s 1995 book Prince Edward, Sophie, who was born a ‘commoner’, struggled to adjust to life as a royal.
“Like all couples there were moments when the effort of adjusting led to rows and disagreements and, in the summer of 1994, they came precariously close to parting,” Ingrid wrote.
The countess was born plain Sophie Rhys-Jones, and hailed from a middle-class background. She was a public relations girl who once worked for Capital Radio before marrying into the royal family.
Ingrid said that just a year after they met, the Prince, who is the youngest son of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, got cold feet.
“Edward became what one friend described as ‘unnerved’ by the speed which the affair was developing.
“But if Edward was wracked by indecision (a not-uncommon problem amongst male members of his family) Sophie remained coolly determined.
“She was not prepared to let the relationship flounder.
“When rumours of the rift became public she dismissed them as ‘rubbish’.
“She was being elastic with the truth, but it did give her the breathing space she needed to get her relationship back on track again,” she wrote.
Everything was back on track by the Christmas of 1994, and the couple went on to wed at St George’s Chapel in June 1999.
They now have two children, Lady Louise Windsor, 15, and James, Viscount Severn, 11, who is the youngest grandchild of Queen Elizabeth.
