Prince Edward honours Anzac Day: the Duke of Edinburgh leads the ...

Calling the father-of-two ‘kind and self-deprecating’, she explained how ‘marriage and fatherhood have matured him’, adding that Edward ‘credits much of this to his wife Sophie.’ Meanwhile she also writes how the Duke is ‘closest to his sister, the Princess Royal’ of his immediate family, with the two sharing many similarities.

Major General Sir Michael Hobbs a former Director of the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award told MailOnline, ‘There is a degree of softness there which makes him a thoroughly decent chap.’

Edward and his wife Sophie are widely viewed as a competent, confident couple, who have consistently demonstrated their integrity and public articulacy. In recent weeks, the Duke has stepped into the spotlight amidst the King and Kate Middleton’s cancer battles. It is currently unknown when Charles or the Princess of Wales will return to public-facing engagements, after both were diagnosed with cancer earlier this year - but the Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh have consistently demonstrated their integrity and public articulacy over the last few years.

Last month, according to The Telegraph it seems Prince Edward could be set to become the royal's leading man. Insiders have praised the royal father-of-two for his ‘inner steel’, with a former Balmoral gamekeeper telling The Telegraph Edward is a ‘really tough bloke’. Sandy Masson, the former head stalker on the royal estate at Balmoral, said, ‘Edward was easily the toughest of all the princes. Nothing was too much for him.’