Royal Wedding Bells Again

Prince Edward, youngest son of Queen Elizabeth II, will marry his longtime girlfriend, public relations executive Sophie Rhys-Jones, later this year, Buckingham Palace announced Wednesday.

The queen and her husband, Prince Philip, said they were delighted at the match.

The couple, who have dated for five years, "sought the permission of their respective parents between Christmas and the New Year," a statement from the palace said. "Both families are thrilled at the news."

Buckingham Palace said the date and venue have yet to be decided, but the couple hope to use St. George's Chapel at Windsor Castle, the queen's weekend home west of London, for a ceremony in late spring or summer.

Rhys-Jones' parents, Christopher and Mary, said they were "extremely pleased and very happy for Sophie and Prince Edward."

"We have always enjoyed Prince Edward's company and feel that they make a wonderful couple," they said from their home in the village of Brenchley, south of London, where Rhys-Jones was raised.

Later, the newly betrothed couple held hands and joked as they posed at St. James' Palace for photographers and showed off the engagement ring, three large diamonds in a setting from jewelers Asprey Garrard.

"If [the ring] catches the sun, you'll all be blinded," the 34-year-old prince teased.

But asked to kiss his fiancee on the palace lawn, Edward appeared diffident, saying, "I don't know about that." Photographers later persuaded him to give Rhys-Jones, 33, a brief peck on the cheek.

Asked why they make a good couple, the prince replied, "We are the best of friends. and we happen to love each other very much." His fiancee added, "We share a lot of interests. We laugh a lot."

The prince said he had not proposed until now because "I don't think it would have been right before." He denied he had been put off by the trauma of his three siblings' divorces.

"I think if anybody is going to get married, I hope they think they will get it right," he said.

Throughout the couple's relationship, there have been numerous false reports of an imminent marriage, including a prediction that the pair would become engaged on Edward's 30th birthday in March 1994.

Last year, Edward took out a 50-year lease on a former royal residence southwest of London, igniting new rumors that a marriage proposal was planned. But at the time, Edward told the Daily Telegraph newspaper, "not to read too much into this in terms of any changes in my private life."

After resigning his commission with the Royal Marines in 1987, the prince chose a career in the theater, starting with a job at Andrew Lloyd Webber's Really Useful Company.

He is now an established documentary producer and is joint-managing director of his own company, Ardent Productions, which was set up in 1993.

Rhys-Jones, whom frends describe as gregarious, vivacious and down-to-earth, runs a magazine for the Duke of Edinburgh's Award Scheme, a charity set up by her future father-in-law, and handles public relations for several upscale companies.

She plans to continue working after her marriage.

Written by Sue Leeman