12 royal couples whose long-lasting marriages have stood the test of time

Top of the long-lasting marriage list are the Duke and Duchess of Kent, who marked their incredible 63^rd wedding anniversary in June. The Duke, also known as Prince Edward, is a second cousin of King Charles.

Instead of marrying in a traditional royal venue, Edward and his love Katherine said “I do” at the historic York Minster on 8 June 1961. The couple met in York, so there was a meaningful sentiment behind it. Katherine also grew up at Hovingham Hall near York.

Katherine, 91, has retired from public life and is rarely seen in public. Although in June 2023 to mark her and Edward’s 62nd wedding anniversary, she attended a portrait unveiling and concert at St James’s Palace by Future Talent, a charity that she founded in 2004 for aspiring young musicians from financially unstable backgrounds. 

Edward and Katherine have three children together – George Earl of St. Andrews; Lady Helen Windsor; and Lord Nicholas Windsor – and ten grandchildren. The couple now split their time between Wren House in Kensington Palace and Oxfordshire. 

A marriage written in the stars, King Harald of Norway met his future wife Queen Sonja, both 87, at a party in June 1959 when she was the daughter of a clothing merchant. In standard royal traditions, this meant marriage laws had to be reversed as the king was the only heir to the throne and was expected to marry someone of the same social status. 

After being together for nine years prior to their marriage, the pair won over Harald’s father, King Olav V, who initially forbade the wedding. They wed in the stunning Oslo cathedral on 27 August 1968 and had 3,000 soldiers lining the procession route from the royal palace.

In 1993, the couple celebrated their silver wedding anniversary, which was a huge celebration in Oslo that saw over forty royal guests and relatives from around Europe flock to Norway. The event was further marked by a three-day cruise around north-western Norway. For their golden wedding anniversary in 2018, they opted for a more low-key celebration at Oslo Cathedral, still surrounded by family and friends showing just how important their loved ones are to them.

Nowadays, Harald and Sonja reside at The Royal Palace in Oslo and both their two children Crown Prince Haakon and Princess Märtha-Louise are married to non-royals, following in their parents’ footsteps.

Recently, HELLO! exclusively covered the wedding of Martha-Louise and Durek Verrett, an American shaman proving that this Norwegian royal line is certainly making history.

Another impressively long marriage is King Carl XVI Gustaf and Queen Silvia of Sweden who met at the 1972 Olympics in Munich, where Silvia worked as an interpreter. The pair “clicked” right away, according to Carl. 

Their pairing was unique in that Carl had already been reigning as king of Sweden for two years when he proposed to Silvia Sommerlath. So not only was she marrying into the royal family, she would be proclaimed queen – a huge life change to say the least. When Carl was asked about the type of woman he wished to marry, he said: “She may be a secretary or a government official. That does not matter. The important thing is love.”

A highlight of their pre-marriage celebrations was the gala concert the evening before they were wedded. ABBA dedicated a live performance of Dancing Queen to the bride-to-be. The couple had their ceremony at Stockholm Cathedral on 19 June 1976 and as soon as she said her vows, Silvia became queen of Sweden, making this marriage a fairytale love story.  

The couple, who live at Drottningholm Palace, Stockholm, have three children: Crown Princess Victoria, Prince Carl Philip and Princess Madeleine. Earlier this month, Carl Philip’s wife Princess Sofia announced her fourth pregnancy meaning King Carl, 78, and Queen Silvia, 80, will soon be expecting a ninth grandchild.

Grand Duke Henri and Grand Duchess Maria Teresa of Luxembourg met as students whilst they were both reading Political Science at Geneva University. 

Whilst Maria is of Cuban descent and didn’t have a royal background, she came from an aristocratic Spanish family who did have connections with many other nobles. 

The pair started their relationship with some sense of normality as they kept their relationship secret from the public whilst studying. When she graduated in 1980, they announced their engagement a few months later. However, there were still concerns about Henri marrying a non-royal, but this led to him threatening to give up his right to the throne if he couldn’t marry the love of his life. 

On Valentine’s Day in 1981, Henri and Maria married at Notre Dame Cathedral in Luxembourg City and went on to have five children: Prince Guillaume, Prince Félix, Prince Louis, Princess Alexandra, and Prince Sébastien. In June 2006, Henri and Maria looked like a Hollywood pair as they dressed up to celebrate their silver wedding anniversary by attending a special performance at the Grand Theatre.

Still looking loved-up, Henri, 69, and Maria, 68, who live at Berg Castle in Luxembourg, make regular public appearances. One of their most high-profile outings was at the Venice International Film Festival where they were pictured linking arms and smiling.

This couple have supported each other through thick and thin. They met when Timothy was serving as a navy officer on Royal Yacht Britannia in the eighties. Anne was married to Captain Mark Phillips, with whom she shares two children, Peter Phillips and Zara Tindall.

However, Anne separated from Mark and the divorce was finalised in 1992, just months before the Princess Royal and her new love Timothy travelled to Scotland to exchange their vows, since the Church of England didn’t allow divorcees to remarry.

A very low-key wedding for the pair took place on 12 December 1992 at Crathie Kirk, in front of around 30 guests. Their vows included staying together “until God should separate us by death’.’ A testament to their marriage is how Timothy has always supported his wife through huge life-changing events, such as the passing of her parents Prince Philip and the late Queen Elizabeth II. 

Whilst Anne, 74, and Timothy, 69, don’t have children together, he has been a supportive stepfather to the Princess’ two children. The couple now reside mainly in the countryside at Gatcombe Park, Gloucestershire.

“When you know, you know.” Queen Rania, 54, and King Abdullah II, 62, enjoyed a whirlwind royal romance, marrying after less than six months together. Meeting at a dinner party in 1993, Rania was a recent business graduate and worked in the marketing department of Apple.

A national holiday was declared on 10 June 1993 for the couple’s wedding and adoring fans lined the streets in Jordan to catch a glimpse of the ceremony held in Zahran Palace. 

Marrying King Abdullah meant Rania was only 22 years old when she became a princess. Abdullah unexpectedly inherited the throne in 1999, leading Rania to become queen not long into their marriage. It is a testament to their strong bond that she took this life change in her stride and has taken her role as queen very seriously since, such as raising awareness on many causes related to women and young entrepreneurs. 

In June 2023, the pair celebrated 30 years of marriage together and Rania gave her marriage tips to Fox Digital News, saying: “Marriage is just like any undertaking in life, you need to put the work in to make it work. So, my humble advice is: show up, do your absolute best, and don’t forget to have a little fun while you’re at it.”

Living at Raghadan Palace in Jordan’s capital city of Amman, they have four children: Crown Prince Hussein, Princess Iman, Princess Salma and Prince Hasham. The couple became grandparents for the first time last month, with the birth of Prince Hussein and his wife Princess Rajwa’s daughter, Princess Iman.

Even a prince can be rejected as the then Crown Prince Naruhito will know. His wife Masako refused his proposal twice before she agreed to the marriage. Naruhito was part of the Japanese imperial family and it took six years persuading her to marry him before they finally wedded on 19 June 1993. The young Masako was a recent Harvard graduate with a degree in economics and after meeting Oxford graduate Naruhito, she initially worried the marriage would force her to give up her career. 

The prince showed his love for his wife at a post-wedding press conference, when he said: “I will do everything in my power to protect you as long as I live.” Since their marriage, the couple have remained a strong unit and have supported each other in the public eye. They have one daughter, 22-year-old Princess Aiko.

Keeping to royal tradition, the Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh married on 19 June 1999 at St George’s Chapel, Windsor after initially meeting at a tennis event in the early nineties.

The pair have two children, Lady Louise Windsor and James, Earl of Wessex and to this day remain each other’s best friends.

Before Edward’s 60th birthday in March, Sophie, 59, proved she still has a lot of love for her husband and publicly declared him “the best of fathers, the most loving of husbands” and “still my best friend”. Likewise, in a TV interview, Edward said he was “incredibly lucky I found Sophie and that she found me”.

The couple reside at Bagshot Park, Surrey and still make regular public appearances together in their roles as senior working royals.

Marrying at Brussels Town Hall on 4 December 1999, this couple expressed their shared interest in philanthropy by asking for donations to their chosen charities, instead of wedding gifts.

Last year, they celebrated King Philippe’s ten years on the throne, looking incredible as they channelled a royal power couple for their photos at the Palace of Laeken. “We have been through a lot together over the past ten years, known both joy and sorrow,” the Belgian monarch said, referencing his other half.

Philippe, 64, and Mathilde, 51, are regularly seen attending events together, such as the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, or spending time with their family – and always looking very stylish. They have four children together: Crown Princess Elisabeth, Prince Gabriel, Prince Emmanuel and Princess Eléonore. 

Riding through the streets of Amsterdam in a golden carriage is one way to begin a marriage. After being engaged for just under a year, Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands announced her son Willem-Alexander’s engagement to Máxima Zorreguieta. The couple went on to marry on 2 February 2002. Just before the ceremony, Máxima told the world: “I think I won’t see anyone there but Alexander.”

Throughout the years, the pair have sung each other’s praises. Willem-Alexander has spoken highly of his wife, calling her “an extraordinary woman that can keep me down to earth”.

The pair met in 1999 when Máxima, the career woman, was working in high finance in New York and was on holiday in Seville. In 2000, she moved to Brussels, Belgium where the Dutch royal popped the question as they were ice-skating – it sounds like something out of a movie! 

Máxima, 53, and Willem-Alexander, 57, went on to have three daughters: Princess Catharina-Amalia, Princess Alexia, and Princess Ariane. They live at Huis ten Bosch Palace which was renovated in 2019. 

Olympic seasons seem to make royal matches. Frederik and Mary met at the 2000 Sydney Olympics, the setting for their long-distance love story. They went on to marry on 14 May 2004 in Copenhagen Cathedral and a standout moment was when the groom vowed: “Mary is mine, and I am hers. I love her and will protect her with all my love.” 

In 2024, their vows were put to the ultimate test as the pair faced a huge life change after the sudden abdication of Frederik’s mother, Queen Margrethe. Frederik and Mary’s January coronation took place with crowds of more than 100,000 people lining the streets.

As a royal couple, they of course have two residencies, with their summer home in Grasten Palace allowing them to enjoy quality family time together. The pair have four children: Prince Christian, Princess Isabella, Prince Vincent, and Princess Josephine.

Last but not least are King Felipe of Spain and Queen Letizia, who also marked their 20^th wedding anniversary earlier this year. Letizia was a well-known Spanish TV anchor when she met future husband Felipe at a dinner party in 2002. 

Their engagement was announced at a news conference in November 2023 at Zarzuela Palace, and in May 2004, they married at the stunning Almudena Cathedral, when Letizia officially became a princess. 

A big milestone in their marriage came in June 2014 when Felipe’s father King Juan Carlos abdicated the throne, making Felipe the new monarch and Letizia his queen. Their relationship has been filled with many memories together, alongside their two daughters, Princess Leonor and Infanta Sofia.

This feature first appeared on The HELLO! Royal Club. Subscribe here to become a member to read more exclusive newsletters, plus receive a host of other benefits.