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Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex

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The Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex (Edward Antony Richard Louis; born 10 March 1964) 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.


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 George William 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 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 2:2 Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree in 1986. Subsequently, he was awarded an MA (Cantab.) in 1991.

This makes Prince Edward the fourth of only five members of the Royal Family in history to have obtained a university degree:

  1. Prince William of Gloucester (first cousin of The Queen through their grandfather, George V);
  2. Prince Richard, Duke of Gloucester (first cousin of The Queen through their grandfather, George V);
  3. Charles, Prince of Wales (first child of The Queen);
  4. Prince Edward; and
  5. 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. 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”.<ref name=”artist”>The Guardian “Wessex Prince… Or Having Your Cake and Eating it”, June 22, 1999.</ref>


Estonia

In 1994, the leaders of Estonia’s 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<ref name=”estonia”></ref>.


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. The marriage quieted, but did not entirely eliminate, rumours that the Prince was homosexual.<ref name=”rumours”>Salon People – A royal pain</ref>

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 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<ref name=”dofe”>The Royal Family – The Earl of Wessex at 40</ref><ref name=”back”>The Royal Family – TRH The Earl and Countess of Wessex – Background</ref>. 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 the Earl and Countess would have would not be styled Prince or Princess with the style Royal Highness, as they previously would have been entitled under the Letters Patent drawn up by George V in 1917, but as the children of an Earl. The first-born male would be styled Viscount Severn, any further sons The Honourable, and all daughters Lady<ref name=”fam”>The Royal Family – HRH The Earl of Wessex – Marriage and Family</ref>. 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 one child: Lady Louise Windsor (born 8 November 2003) and reside at Bagshot Park in Surrey, once the home of the Duke of Connaught’s family.

On 2 July 2007, Buckingham Palace announced that The Countess of Wessex is expecting another baby, due in December 2007. If the child is a son, he will be styled Viscount Severn from birth, and, eventually, in line for the dukedom of Edinburgh, at which point he may be styled Earl of Wessex.


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’s Award scheme (which is very fitting given the understanding that he will become the Duke of Edinburgh upon the death of his parents).

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.

His other appointments reflect his interests in sport and the arts.


Titles, styles, honours and arms


Titles

  • 10 March 1964-19 June 1999: His Royal Highness The Prince Edward
  • 19 June 1999-: His Royal Highness The Earl of Wessex


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

British Honours

  • KG: Knight of the Garter, 23 April 2006
  • CVO: Commander of the Royal Victorian Order, 10 March 1989
    • KCVO: Knight Commander of the Royal Victorian Order, 2 June 2003
  • ADC(P): Personal Aide-de-Camp to the Queen, 1 August 2004
  • Queen Elizabeth II Silver Jubilee Medal, 10 March 1977
  • Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee Medal, 2 June 2002

Commonwealth Realms Honours

  • Honorary Degree, University of Victoria, August 1994
  • Honorary Member, Saskatchewan Order of Merit, 11 May 2005<ref name=”sask”>Press release - Saskatchewan Order of Merit</ref>
  • Commemorative Medal for the Centennial of Saskatchewan, 7 June 2005
  • New Zealand Commemorative Medal (150th anniversary of Treaty of Waitangi), 1990
  • Honorary Degree, University of Prince Edward Island, October 13 2007


Military

  • 2Lt, October 1986-January 1987: Second-Lieutenant, Royal Marines


Honorary military appointments

British

  • Royal Honorary Colonel, of the Royal Wessex Yeomanry
  • Royal Colonel, of the 2nd Battalion, The Rifles
  • Commodore-in-Chief, of the Royal Fleet Auxiliary

Commonwealth Realms

  • Colonel-in-Chief, of The Hastings and Prince Edward Regiment
  • Colonel-in-Chief, of The Prince Edward Island Regiment<ref></ref>
  • Colonel-in-Chief, of the Saskatchewan Dragoons


Arms

The Earl’s personalized coat of arms are those of the Royal coat of arms of the United Kingdom with a label for difference: Quarterly (by quarters):

1st and 4th, Gules three Lions passant guardant in pale Or (England). (The first and fourth quarters display the three lions, representing England).
2nd quarter is of a lion rampant within a Double Tressure floury counterflory Gules (Scotland). (The second quarter, displays a red lion in a yellow field with a double border coloured red, this represents Scotland).
3rd, Azure a Harp Or stringed Argent (Ireland). (The third quarter shows a harp against a blue background, this represents Ireland).

The whole differenced by a Label of three points Argent the central point charged with a Tudor rose.


Ancestry


See also

  • List of British princes


References

<references/>


External links

  • Award Winner Receives Royal Treatment (2003)
  • Earl of Wessex Visits Saskatchewan Regiment (2003)

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