Sophie, the Duchess of Edinburgh, is celebrating her 60th birthday with a dinner and dance at home,

according to reports. The mother-of-two is hosting a black tie dinner,

The Sun is claiming, at her home of Bagshot Park, where she lives with her husband Prince Edward and their son James, Earl of Wessex.

Among those invited to the party in Berkshire, which has been her home since she married the Duke in 1999,

are the King and Queen, as well as the Prince and Princess of Wales, with whom the Duchess is said to have a particularly close relationship.

Sources speaking to the publication said ‘all members of the royal family have been invited’, suggesting attendees could also include her siblings-in-law Princess Anne and her husband Tim Laurence, as well as Prince Andrew and his ex-wife Sarah Ferguson. It’s likely other members of the family on the guestlist will include Zara and Mike Tindall, as well as Peter Phillips, who has often been accompanied by his girlfriend Harriet Sperling to events over the last year.

The party will also see close friends of the family and the Duchess of Edinburgh come together to celebrate, including Andrew Lloyd Webber and Sophie’s former colleagues at Capital Radio, where she once worked as a press officer. Elsewhere, Sophie’s father, Christopher Rhys-Jones, and brother, David, 61, will also join the party.

Lady Louise and James, Earl of Wessex, will have no doubt also joined the occasion. Lady Louise is thought to be travelling down from Scotland, where she is currently studying at St Andrews, for the event, although it’s unknown whether she will be on her own. Perhaps an invite will be extended to her boyfriend Felix Da Silva-Clamp, who met Sophie and Edward at Sandringham Horse Trials.

Despite sources telling Vanity Fair the ‘event wouldn’t be grand’, The Sun said staff for the party have reportedly been borrowed from nearby Windsor Castle to ensure the event goes off without a hitch, as the Edinburghs have few staff of their own.

It’s no wonder then that the Duchess chose to celebrate his actual birthday at home with just his closest family members.

Prince Edward, who is reported to have organised the party, will no doubt lead the family in celebrating Sophie’s birthday. After all, the couple, who celebrated their 25th wedding anniversary in 2024, have both issued public tributes to one another over the past year. Ahead of Edward’s 60th birthday in March, Sophie, 59, gave her husband a tearful tribute, calling him ‘the best of fathers, the most loving of husbands’ and ‘still my best friend’. During the speech, the Duchess likened her husband to his father, Prince Philip, saying, ‘He has been my guide and shown me the way over the years.

‘He has given me much help and advice (not always taken I admit), and his knowledge and instincts that have been honed over decades of service are invaluable – so we share speech notes (not this one, sorry darling!), chat through issues our patronages may be tackling, and together I think we make quite a good team.’ Edward, in a TV interview, described his wife as his ‘rock’, adding he was ‘incredibly lucky that I found Sophie and she found me’.

It’s possible that Edward continued the exultation with a speech for Sophie at the celebrations – perhaps speaking of her dedication to The Firm and her love for her children.

Other royal sixtieths have been similarly lavish; Prince Charles celebrated his birthday with two parties, including an enormous state banquet at Buckingham Palace and a party Highgrove in Gloucestershire. Prince Andrew, who turned 60 in February 2020, held a dinner at Royal Lodge, his home in Windsor Great Park, for about a dozen of his closest family members, while Princess Anne spent her 60th birthday with her husband, Vice-Admiral Tim Laurence.