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Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex
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"The Earl of Wessex" redirects here. For other people known as Earl of Wessex, see Earl of Wessex. The Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex (Edward Antony Richard Louis; born 10 March 1964[2]) is a member of the British Royal Family, the youngest child and third son of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. He has held the title of Earl of Wessex since 1999. The Earl of Wessex is currently seventh in the line of succession and has been since the birth of his niece Princess Eugenie in 1990.
Early life
Edward was born at Buckingham Palace, London. His mother is the current reigning Monarch of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the Commonwealth Realms, Elizabeth II, the elder daughter of George VI and Queen Elizabeth (later Queen Mother). His father is Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, the only son of Prince Andrew of Greece and Denmark and Princess Alice of Battenberg.
He was baptised in the Private Chapel at Windsor Castle on 2 May 1964 by Robert Woods, Dean of Windsor. His godparents were: Prince Richard of Gloucester (now the Duke of Gloucester), Prince Louis of Hesse and by Rhine, The Earl of Snowdon, The Duchess of Kent (for whom Princess Marina, Duchess of Kent stood proxy) and his paternal aunt, Princess Sophie of Greece and Denmark.
As a child of the reigning monarch, he was styled His Royal Highness The Prince Edward from birth.
Education
Prince Edward, like other royal children at that time, was educated by a private governess until the age of seven. Afterwards he attended Gibbs School, in Kensington, West London. In 1972, he went to Heatherdown Preparatory School near Ascot in Berkshire. Following in the footsteps of his father and brothers, he attended Gordonstoun School in Scotland and was appointed head boy in his last term.
Like his brother, Prince Andrew, Prince Edward spent a "gap year" abroad, spending two terms at the Collegiate School, Wanganui, New Zealand, as a house tutor/junior master during September 1982.
Returning to England, Prince Edward enrolled at Jesus College, University of Cambridge, reading history. He graduated with a third class BA degree in 1986. Subsequently, he was awarded an MA (Cantab.) degree in 1991.
This makes Prince Edward the fourth of only five members of the Royal Family in history to have obtained a university degree:
- Prince William of Gloucester (first cousin of The Queen through their grandfather, George V);
- Prince Richard, Duke of Gloucester (first cousin of The Queen through their grandfather, George V);
- Charles, Prince of Wales (first child of The Queen);
- Prince Edward; and
- Prince William of Wales (Prince Charles' first child and Prince Edward's own nephew).
Career
On leaving university, Prince Edward joined the Royal Marines to train as an officer. However, he resigned his commission in January 1987, before graduation. After leaving the Marines, Prince Edward became more involved in theatre, an activity he had enjoyed extensively at school and university. In the late 1980s, he worked for two theatrical production companies, including Andrew Lloyd Webber's Really Useful Theatre Company. During his time at Lloyd Webber's company, he worked on such plays as Phantom of the Opera, Starlight Express, and Cats, and dated actress Ruthie Henshall for two years.
Prince Edward's first foray into the world of television production was, It's a Royal Knockout television programme in June 1987, in which teams sponsored by himself and other members of the Royal Family competed for charity. In 1993, Prince Edward formed the Ardent Television production company, under the name Edward Windsor. Ardent was heavily involved in the production of documentaries and dramas, particularly on the Royal Families of Europe. With extensive access to the Royal Archives at Windsor Castle, Prince Edward had plenty of material for his work. However, he was accused in the media of using his Royal connections for personal and business gain, particularly given the financial problems of Ardent since its founding (it reported losses in all years of existence except one). In 2002, the Prince announced that he would step down as director of production and joint managing director of Ardent to concentrate on his public duties and to support the Queen during her Golden Jubilee year.
During his television career, the Prince used the names Edward Windsor and, later, Edward Wessex, leading The Guardian, for one, to refer to him as "the Edward formerly known as Prince".[3]
Estonia
In 1994, the leaders of Estonia's (now defunct) Royalist Party, with 10 percent of the seats in the Estonian National Parliament, wrote to Prince Edward indicating that they would, if they came to power, like to offer him the position of King of Estonia. In their letter, they said that they wanted Edward as King because of their admiration "for him, Britain, its monarchy, democracy and culture". It is unknown how, or even if, the Prince responded, but he obviously has not assumed, and almost certainly never will assume, the non-existent throne of this Baltic state[4].
Marriage
On 6 January 1999 the Prince announced his engagement to Sophie Rhys-Jones, a public relations manager with her own firm. Their wedding took place on 19 June 1999 at St. George's Chapel, Windsor. This was a break with the recent tradition of holding large formal royal weddings at Westminster Abbey.
On his wedding day, the Queen conferred the titles of Earl of Wessex and Viscount Severn on Prince Edward. This was a break with tradition, whereby the sons of a sovereign were usually created a Duke, but the Earldom of Wessex has a distinguished Royal lineage, the Kingdom of Wessex having played the leading role in the unification of Anglo-Saxon England. The last person known as "Earl of Wessex" was Harold Godwinson, prior to his accession to the English throne as King Harold II in 1066. Edward is styled HRH The Earl of Wessex, with Sophie taking the style HRH The Countess of Wessex.
It was also announced at that time that the Earl of Wessex would be created Duke of Edinburgh when the current creation of that Dukedom, held by Prince Philip since 1947, reverts to the Crown[5][6]. This, however, will not happen automatically. Should Prince Philip predecease the Queen, the title will be inherited by his firstborn son, the Prince of Wales, and will only revert to the Crown once Prince Charles succeeds to the throne. Should the Queen predecease Prince Philip, the Dukedom will revert upon Prince Philip's death. In either case, Prince Edward will not inherit the Dukedom: instead he will have to be granted it by Letters Patent of the Queen's successor.
In addition, it was announced that any children of the Earl and Countess would not use the style Prince or Princess with the style Royal Highness, to which they are entitled under the Letters Patent drawn up by George V in 1917. Instead, as the children of the Earl, the first-born male would use the courtesy title Viscount Severn, any further sons The Honourable, and all daughters Lady[7]. It is not known how this agreement will be affected by the Earl's future creation as Duke of Edinburgh (unlike the younger sons of Earls, the younger sons of Dukes are usually styled Lord). This agreement is not binding for the couple's children once they reach adulthood, as they are entitled to the style "HRH" and may eventually choose to use it.
The Earl and Countess of Wessex have two children: Lady Louise Windsor (born 8 November 2003) and a son, James, Viscount Severn (born 17 December 2007)[8]. It is expected that Viscount Severn will take the courtesy title Earl of Wessex when his father becomes Duke of Edinburgh and will, in time, succeed his father to the Dukedom.
The family reside at Bagshot Park in Surrey, once the home of the Duke of Connaught's family.
Royal duties
The Earl and Countess of Wessex carry out a full schedule of Royal duties on behalf of the Queen, receiving civil list monies from the Queen of £141,000 per annum.[9]
The Earl has, in recent years, succeeded to many of the roles of his father, the Duke of Edinburgh, who is reducing some of his roles owing to his age. The Earl replaced him as President of the Commonwealth Games Federation (since 2006 its Vice-Patron) and opened the 1998 Commonwealth Games in Malaysia. He has also taken over the Duke's role in the Duke of Edinburgh's Award scheme (which is very fitting given the understanding that he will become the Duke of Edinburgh upon the death of his parents).
The Earl attended the Duke of Edinburgh Gold Award Ceremony, along with 100 award achievers, at Havergal College in Toronto, Ontario, Canada on the 7th of June, 2008.
As part of the celebrations of the 50th anniversary of the Duke of Edinburgh Award scheme, the Prince visited Richard Huish College in Taunton, Somerset. There, he met with several representatives and participants of the scheme. The Earl of Wessex also made a visit to Torquay Boys' Grammar School where he talked, in front of around 400 people, about the Duke of Edinburgh's award scheme.
His other appointments reflect his interests in sport and the arts.
Titles, styles, honours and arms
Titles and styles
The Prince's style in full: His Royal Highness The Prince Edward Antony Richard Louis, Earl of Wessex, Viscount Severn, Knight Companion of the Most Noble Order of the Garter, Knight Commander of the Royal Victorian Order, Honorary Member of the Saskatchewan Order of Merit, Aide-de-Camp to Her Majesty
Honours
Honorary Degrees
Military
Honorary military appointments
 Canada
 United Kingdom
Arms
| Arms of Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex |
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| Notes |
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| Escutcheon |
Quarterly 1st and 4th gules three lions passant guardant in pale or armed and langed azure 2nd or a lion rampant gules armed and langued azure within a double tressure flory counterflory of the second 3rd azure a harp or stringed argent
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Dexter a lion rampant gardant Or imperially crowned Proper, sinister a unicorn Argent, armed, crined and unguled Or, gorged with a coronet Or composed of crosses patée and fleurs de lis a chain affixed thereto passing between the forelegs and reflexed over the back also Or
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| Symbolism |
As with the Royal Arms of the United Kingdom. The first and third quarters are the arms of England, the second of Scotland, the fourth of Ireland.
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Ancestry
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Ancestors of Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex |
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See also
References
- ^ As a titled royal, Edward holds no surname, but, when one is used, it is Mountbatten-Windsor (although he has previously used Windsor and Wessex)
- ^ royal.gov.uk (undated). "TRH The Earl and Countess of Wessex". Retrieved on 2008-03-19.
- ^ The Guardian "Wessex Prince... Or Having Your Cake and Eating it", June 22, 1999.
- ^ Mayer, Jeremy D.; Sigelman, Lee (December 1998). "Zog for Albania, Edward for Estonia, and Monarchs for All the Rest? The Royal Road to Prosperity, Democracy, and World Peace". PS: Political Science and Politics 31 (4): 771–774. doi:10.2307/420713.
- ^ The Royal Family – The Earl of Wessex at 40
- ^ The Royal Family – TRH The Earl and Countess of Wessex – Background
- ^ The Royal Family – HRH The Earl of Wessex – Marriage and Family
- ^ "Countess gives birth to a baby boy", BBC News (17 December 2007).
- ^ The Monarch Today, Official Website of the British Monarchy, Retrieved 2007-12-11
- ^ Press release - Saskatchewan Order of Merit
- ^ Canadian Press (2007-09-05). "Prince Edward to visit Canada". Retrieved on 2007-09-10.
External links
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