Prince Edward, Duke of Edinburgh
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The Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex, (Edward Antony Richard Louis Mountbatten-Windsor), styled HRH The Earl of Wessex, KG (born March 10, 1964), is a member of the British royal family, the youngest child and third son of Queen Elizabeth II. He has held the title of Earl of Wessex since 1999. The Earl of Wessex is currently seventh in the line of succession.
The Earl of Wessex is mostly famous for his television production and presenting career, and his brief service with the Royal Marines. In connection with the television production, he has used the names Edward Windsor and, later, Edward Wessex, leading some to refer to him as "Edward, formerly known as Prince".
Early life
Edward was born on 10 March, 1964 at Buckingham Palace, London. His mother is the current reigning British monarch, Queen Elizabeth II, the elder daughter of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth. 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 Louise of Hesse and by Rhine, The Earl of Snowdon, The Duchess of Kent (for whom Princess Marina, Duchess of Kent stood proxy) and Princess George of Hanover.
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, 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 Bachelor of Arts degree in 1986.
This makes Prince Edward only the third of four members of the Royal Family in history to have obtained a university degree:
- Prince Richard, Duke of Gloucester (first cousin of Queen Elizabeth II through their grandfather, King George V);
- Charles, Prince of Wales (first child of Queen Elizabeth II);
- 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. But the Marines proved to be too demanding for the Prince, and he resigned his commission in January 1987, before graduation. This led to strong public criticism of the Prince for being "too weak."
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.
Prince Edward's first foray into the world of television production was the widely-ridiculed 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 exclusive 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). The most embarrassing moment came when it was reported that a television crew from Ardent was found to be filming the Prince's nephew, HRH Prince William of Wales, during his stay at university in St Andrews in breach of an agreement between the royal family and the media.
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.
Marriage
| Styles of HRH the Earl of Wessex | |
|---|---|
| File:Earl of Wessex Standard.gif | |
| Reference style | His Royal Highness |
| Spoken style | Your Royal Highness |
| Alternative style | Sir |
On January 9, 1999, the Prince announced his engagement to his eleventh cousin once removed, Sophie Rhys-Jones, a public relations manager with her own firm. Their wedding took place on June 19, 1999 at St. George's Chapel, Windsor. This was a break with the recent tradition of holding large formal royal weddings at Westminster Abbey. The marriage quieted, but did not entirely eliminate, rumours that the Prince was homosexual.
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. The title of Wessex was unusual. The last person known as "Earl of Wessex" was Harold Godwinson, prior to his accession to the English throne in 1066. Edward is styled HRH The Earl of Wessex, with Sophie taking the style HRH The Countess of Wessex.
The Earl and Countess of Wessex have one child: Princess Louise of Wessex, known as Lady Louise Windsor (born November 8, 2003).
The Earl and Countess of Wessex have requested that their children be styled as children of an earl. However, the necessary letters patent have not been issued, thus they will still be technically styled HRH Prince(sse)s of Wessex. Although the first born male of the couple could use the Earl's courtesy title of Viscount Severn, subsequent males and females would be styled the Honourable or Lady, respectively.
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.
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 due to 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 Award scheme.
His other appointments reflect his interests in sport and the arts.
Dukedom of Edinburgh
It was announced at the time of his wedding that the Earl of Wessex would eventually become Duke of Edinburgh. However, he will,almost certainly, not inherit the title from his father. Like any normal dukedom, the present Dukedom of Edinburgh passes to the male heirs of the first Duke. Therefore, his eldest son, the Prince of Wales will, in the natural course of events, inherit the title. (Assuming no unexpected deaths occur, either the Duke of Edinburgh will predecease the Queen, in which case the title will be inherited by the Prince of Wales and then merge with the Crown when he succeeds as King, or the Queen will predecease the Duke of Edinburgh, in which case the title will merge with the Crown on the Duke's death by virtue of inheritance by a reigning Sovereign.)
Some more unlikely possibilities arise in the event of unexpected deaths in the Royal Family. Such possibilities include:
- If Prince William of Wales had a daughter and both he and his father predeceased the Duke of Edinburgh, the daughter would inherit the Crown, but Prince Henry of Wales would inherit the Dukedom.
- If Prince William was to become ineligible for the throne under the Act of Settlement and the Prince of Wales predeceased either the Queen or the Duke of Edinburgh he would then inherit the Dukedom while Prince Henry would become king.
- If the Prince of Wales, his two sons and the Duke of York all predeceased the Earl of Wessex and the Duke of Edinburgh, Princess Beatrice of York would inherit the Crown, but the Earl of Wessex would inherit the Dukedom.
It is not expected that the subsidiary titles of the Dukedom of Edinburgh (the Earldom of Merioneth and the Barony of Greenwich) will be recreated for the Earl of Wessex.
Titles and honours
Titles
- His Royal Highness The Prince Edward (10 March 1964–10 March 1989)
- His Royal Highness The Prince Edward, CVO (10 March 1989–19 June 1999)
- His Royal Highness The Earl of Wessex, CVO (19 June 1999–2 June 2003)
- His Royal Highness The Earl of Wessex, KCVO (2 June 2003–1 August 2004)
- His Royal Highness The Earl of Wessex, KCVO, ADC(P) (1 August 2004–23 April 2006)
- His Royal Highness The Earl of Wessex, KG, KCVO, ADC(P) (from 23 April 2006)
Honours
- Knight of the Most Noble Order of the Garter - Appointed on 23 April 2006
- Knight Commander of the Royal Victorian Order - Appointed on 2 June 2003 (elevated from Commander (appointed on 10 March 1989))
- Personal aide-de-camp to the Queen (from 1 August 2004)
- Honorary Member of the Saskatchewan Order of Merit (June 2 2006)
Commonwealth honours
The Following is a listing of the Titles and Honours bestowed upon the Earl of Wessex. The first date listed marks the date of appointment. If a second date is listed it refers to the end of that appointment by elevation to a higher level.
| Country | Award or Order | Class or Position | Dates |
|---|---|---|---|
| United Kingdom | Queen Elizabeth II Silver Jubilee Medal | - | March 10th 1977 |
| United Kingdom | Royal Victorian Order | Commander | March 10th 1989-June 2nd 2005 |
| New Zealand | New Zealand 1990 Commemorative Medal | - | 1990 |
| United Kingdom | Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee Medal | - | June 2nd 2003 |
| United Kingdom | Personal aide-de-camp to the Queen | - | August 1st 2004-Present |
| Canada | Saskatchewan Order of Merit | Honorary Companion | May 11th 2005 |
| Canada | Commemorative Medal for the Centennial of Saskatchewan | - | June 7th 2005 |
Military Career
- 2nd Lieutenant, Royal Marines - October 1986 to January 1987
Honorary military appointments
- Royal Honorary Colonel, The Royal Wessex Yeomanry
- Colonel-in-Chief, The Hastings and Prince Edward Regiment
- Colonel-in-Chief, The Saskatchewan Dragoons
- Royal Colonel, 2nd Battalion The Rifles
See also
External links
- English and British princes
- Mountbatten-Windsor family
- British royalty
- British television presenters
- British television producers
- Alumni of Jesus College, Cambridge
- People from London
- Earls in the Peerage of the United Kingdom
- Knights of the Garter
- Knights Commander of the Royal Victorian Order
- 1964 births
- Living people