Edward and Sophie were the Harry and Meghan of their day but after their private careers became a well-publicised disaster, they rejoined the family and knuckled down to turn the public's view of them

They were a young couple who wanted to be 'half in, half out' of the Royal Family but struggled after their plans ran into difficulties, causing them to be lampooned by the press. Pictured for their 25th wedding anniversary in June 2024 If the Sussexes want to come back to the royal fold, it has been suggested they could follow Edward and Sophie's example and dedicate themselves to royal duties Edward's private film career was a disaster, especially following his panned TV show It's a Royal Knockout in 1987 where was four teams of celebrities, each with a non-participating royal clad in pantomime costume at the helm - Edward, Princess Anne, Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson Sophie's private career in PR also came to an end after she was caught boasting to an undercover journalist about her firm's royal connections They wound down their businesses and dug into royal duties to become known as a safe pair of hands for any event needing a royal presence. Unlike his two brothers Charles and Andrew, military life never suited Edward and he left the Royal Marines after just four months Queen Elizabeth II and her daughter-in-law Sophie arrive at St Mary Magdalene Church in Sandringham for the Christmas Day service in 2001 Instead he decided to take on a totally different challenge, one which had not been attempted by a member of the family before - producing a TV show. Prince Edward in 1993 as he checks his watch before going to work at his own television production company In 1993 Prince Edward launched Ardent Productions, in which he personally invested £205,000 Prince Edward at the launch of his TV production company with his colleagues Edward as he masterminded the It's a Royal Knockout charity fundraising event from behind the scenes Edward was dubbed 'Prince Brat' by the Daily Mail's most celebrated columnist at the time Linda Lee-Potter for his rude manners It floundered in its first year, failing to win a single commission, but in July 1995 there was a breakthrough, with Channel 4 agreeing to let the then earl front a short series on the niche game of real tennis - an indoor pursuit, played with wooden racquets. Pictured: Sophie was trusted to take this private photo of the Queen and her husband Philip in 2003 Sophie and Edward, then Countess of Wessex and the Earl of Wessex, at Canary Wharf Station on May 30, 2002 Sophie and Queen Elizabeth II share a laugh at a meeting of the National Federation Of Women's Institute at Royal Albert Hall on June 4, 2015 Prince Edward and Sophie, alongside their children James and Lady Louise Windsor at the funeral of Prince Philip on April 17, 2021 Sophie looks at the flowers placed outside Balmoral Castle on September 10, 2022, two days after Queen Elizabeth II died at the age of 96 The Princess Royal is comforted by Sophie as the coffin of Queen Elizabeth II completes its journey from Balmoral to the Palace of Holyroodhouse in Edinburgh on September 11, 2022 Sophie's image, too, has changed over the years.