The Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh reveal secret to their long-lasting royal romance

Danielle Stacey
·4-min read
Edward and Sophie smiling
Edward and Sophie have been married for over 25 years (Getty Images)

The Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh have opened up about their long-lasting romance as they concluded their six-day visit to Nepal.

Prince Edward and Sophie, both 60, were heard exchanging jokes and holding hands as they visited a botanical garden on Thursday.

Speaking to the travelling media, the couple were asked about the secret to their happy 25-year marriage, with Edward sweetly replying: "Because we're best friends," to which Sophie agreed: "That's true."

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There was one moment on the tour when the Duke planted a magnolia tree at the Godawari National Botanic Garden and the Duchess was full of encouragement, saying: "Keep going, darling."

The pair then both laughed as Edward said: "That's the best bit of exercise I've had in ages."

Speaking about their shared sense of humour, Sophie told the media: "There's always got to be humour. Especially when you're travelling, and you’ve got no idea what's about to happen. You've got to laugh."

Asked about their competitive nature, Sophie added: "Always. Got to be competitive going up those hills."

Elaborating on their engagement in the botanical garden, Edward explained: "There was a wonderful confusion because they wanted us both to plant the tree but then Sophie was then going to go and plant a rhododendron. We felt, 'Well, hang on a minute, if you're going to plant the rhododendron, I should plant the tree'. There was a lot of banter going on."

Edward plants a tree at botanical gardens in Nepal
Edward and Sophie exchanged jokes during the tree-planting (Getty Images)

Their programme in Nepal has reflected their key individual focuses, with Edward connecting with youngsters participating in The Duke of Edinburgh's International Award and Sophie joining discussions about crucial interventions supporting survivors of sexual exploitation, gender-based violence, and trafficking.

The Duchess hasn't shied away from talking about hard-hitting subjects, and her work has taken her all over the world.

When asked when she feels it's so important to spotlight such causes, Sophie said: "Women often are excluded or at the bad end of the deal. Unfortunately, women are affected the most when there are difficult issues to deal with. So whether it be conflict, you know, we're starting to see the effects."

Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh meeting patients and doctors of Kirtipur Eye Hospital
The Duchess also met patients and doctors of Kirtipur Eye Hospital (Getty)

She continued: "And let's remember, in Nepal one of the other things we've been doing is focussing on climate change issues and I'm looking at that because we've got populations that are becoming more at risk due to climate change and of course those populations are going to find it harder to remain where they are.

"Therefore, if they have to move, they migrate and they then become incredibly vulnerable to sexual exploitation.

"If people in my position don't champion people like that, they have very little voice. And they are so very vulnerable and in many countries there isn't a lot of help for them. So it's not an easy subject but it's important that people are aware of it."

The Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh with President of Nepal, Ram Chandra Paudel and his wife Sabita at the Presidential Palace
The Edinburghs with the President of Nepal, Ram Chandra Paudel and his wife Sabita at the Presidential Palace (Alamy)

While Sophie says that people have become more aware of these issues because of more recent conflicts, she adds: "Historically, they’ve always been there. But it's been hard for them to have a voice. And to change behaviours you have to keep banging the drum. So I keep on banging the drum."

On the second day of the tour, the Duchess spoke to survivors of trafficking and gender-based violence at Maiti Nepal – an organisation the King also visited in 1998.

Sophie with Anuradha Koirala, founder of Maiti Nepal,
The Duchess with Anuradha Koirala, (left) founder of Maiti Nepal (Getty)

Reflecting on her visit, she said: "I met some of the young women there and they are really changing their lives with the help of Maiti. And there's been countless women that have gone through and of course that goes back to the connection that the then Prince of Wales, sold his painting and allowed them to purchase the land that they're now on.

"Without that, I don't know how far forward they would have been able to get. It really was a game-changer for them."

Edward and Sophie wearing white scarves in Nepal
The trip has focused on some of the couple's key causes (Getty Images)

Speaking about the impact that they can have through their work, Edward said: "There are some brilliant organisations and there are some brilliant people, who for most of the time, their work is unsung. And if we can just shine a bit of a light on the work that they're doing… and it helps them to be able to tell the story better and to give them a better profile, then that's what you really hope for."

Sophie added: "And also they're looking for local help from ministers. It's amazing what a royal visit will do. These people will turn up and then hopefully they might learn something when they get there. And if that changes something for them for the better, then it's great."