Garter Day was an especially poignant day for the Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh.
Not only were they celebrating their first Garter Day as the newly-titled Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh, but they were also returning to the site of their wedding ceremony 24 years later.
Edward and Sophie were part of Monday’s Garter Day ceremony, with Edward having been named a Royal Knight of the Order of the Garter in 2006.
On 19 June 1999, Edward and Sophie were married at St George’s Chapel in a sunny, summery ceremony and created the Earl and Countess of Wessex.
Twenty-four years later, the couple are the parents of two children: Lady Louise, who just finished her first year of study at the University of St. Andrew’s and James, the Earl of Wessex.
On their wedding day, they were given the titles to the Earldom of Wessex as placeholders for the titles to the dukedom of Edinburgh. They wouldn’t be entitled to them until the demise of Prince Philip, who previously held the title, and the death of Elizabeth II.
After Prince Philip passed away in 2021, the dukedom of Edinburgh was inherited by now-King Charles III. After the death of Elizabeth II last autumn, all of King Charles’s titles reverted to the Crown.
Earlier this year, on Edward’s birthday, King Charles created his brother Duke of Edinburgh for his lifetime, with Sophie inheriting the Duchess title.
The Royal Family website announced in March: “The new Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh are proud to continue Prince Philip’s legacy of promoting opportunities for young people of all backgrounds to reach their full potential.”
The wider Royal Family were on hand to mark King Charles’s first Garter Day ceremony as sovereign. The Prince and Princess of Wales, the Princess Royal and Sir Timothy Laurence, the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester and the Duke of Kent were all present at the ceremony.
