As she celebrated her twentieth wedding anniversary with a day out at Royal Ascot with her husband, it appeared that the Countess of Wessex was paying her own tribute to her famous day as a royal bride. For Sophie was in white and black on her big anniversary, just as she was two decades ago when she said ‘I do’ at St. George’s Chapel, Windsor.
As she marked her China wedding anniversary, the Countess of Wessex chose a dress with a pure white top and a black and white hat. It was an echo of the colour scheme she selected for her wedding day. Then, Sophie wore black and white pearl jewellery given to her by her husband with her wedding dress. Her bridesmaids and pageboys were in black and white, too, for the marriage celebrations, the last big British royal wedding of the 20th century.
Sophie’s wedding anniversary outfit was glimpsed as she and the Earl of Wessex took their places for Royal Ascot. The couple made a low key entrance to day two of the event. They weren’t in the carriage procession, led by the Queen, and instead were first noticed as they appeared on the balcony of a box after the royal party had arrived.
The Earl and Countess of Wessex married on June 19th 1999, five months after announcing their engagement. The couple had known each other for several years after meeting at a real tennis event. They have since had two children – Lady Louise (born 2003) and James, Viscount Severn (born 2007) – and have become two of the busiest members of the Royal Family. Earlier this year, the Queen also granted them the titles of Earl and Countess of Forfar.
Royal Ascot this year began on June 18th when Edward and Sophie joined many other members of the Royal Family in the carriage procession. They arrived in the third carriage alongside the Princess Royal. The Queen, with King Willem-Alexander and Queen Maxima of the Netherlands, had led the royal party on opening day.
