The 'unromantic gift' Prince Edward gave Duchess Sophie for her birthday
Oh dear...
If you keep up with the royals like us, you are probably wondering what special gift Prince Edward is giving Duchess Sophie today, as she celebrates her 61st birthday.
Although nothing has been confirmed just yet, we do know that Prince Edward may not have the best track record when it comes to buying Sophie’s birthday presents.
When she turned 29, the royal apparently gave the then-PR businesswoman a very surprising gift. And it wasn’t exactly romantic…
Prince Edward’s ‘unusual gift’ to Duchess Sophie
The Duke of Edinburgh and his wife are known to be very down to earth.
Despite their royal status, they keep things pretty lowkey. However, it is still presumed that they enjoy the finer things in life.
Typically on a royal birthday, husbands are known to commission luxury jewellery.
But when it came to Duchess Sophie’s 29th birthday, Prince Edward seemingly had a different idea.
He opted for something a little bit more… practical.
Prince Edward reportedly gave Duchess Sophie a monogrammed suitcase.
In his biography of Sophie, royal author Sean Smith described that although the suitcase was “very smart,” it was “hardly designed to sweep a girl off her feet”.
He added: “Sophie was faced with having to answer the inevitable question from friends, ‘What did Edward give you?’ with the far from impressive words, ‘a jolly nice suitcase’.”
Duchess Sophie’s 29th birthday
This wasn’t the only thing Prince Edward did to celebrate Sophie as she turned 29. He also threw her a party at Buckingham Palace on January 19, 1994.
As per reports, Edward waited until guests had left to give Sophie another present.
Sean Smith penned that Edward “sheepishly produced a second present”.
This time, it was a framed photo of himself.
Smith noted that Edward could have wowed Sophie with a sparkling piece of jewellery for his “unofficial intended,” but he was likely conscious of any “press interest”.
Although, Smith also added that a friend said that neither of these gifts did “justice to Edward’s true nature”.
The friend allegedly claimed that Prince Edward had a very romantic side. Smith detailed that the friend “confided that he (Edward) called her ‘Darling’ and signed off ‘with masses of love, Edward’, with four kisses and two hearts at the end”.
Edward’s romantic gestures
Prince Edward would also, allegedly, “happily bombard” Sophie with phone calls and bouquets of red roses “delivered to her flat,” whilst they were dating.
“He could have slipped into Garrard’s, the Royal jewellers, to select a discreet diamond in appreciation of how deftly his unofficial intended was handling the press interest in their romance,” Mr Smith wrote. “Instead, he chose a suitcase.”
Smith added that something flashy could “make the gift very public,” whilst a suitcase was more understated.
Ideal to avoid media scrutiny.
Prince Edward’s ‘heartfelt gift’ to Sophie
After apparently surprising Sophie with a party, attended by her friends, which she had initially thought was going to be just a dinner with Edward, the prince gifted her a sweet memento.
Edward reportedly gave Sophie a photograph of himself taken during his time as a Marine. He had it framed in an antique silver frame.
“A delighted Sophie promised to keep it by her bed at the flat in West Kensington,” wrote Sean Smith.
We wonder if Edward pulled it out of the bag this year. We’ll have to wait and see!
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