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Revision as of 22:23, 28 June 2011

"The Earl of Wessex" redirects here. For other people known as Earl of Wessex, see Earl of Wessex.
"The Prince Edward" redirects here. For other people known as Prince Edward, see Prince Edward (disambiguation).

Prince Edward
Earl of Wessex
The Earl of Wessex at the wedding of Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden, 19 June 2010
Earl of Wessex
1st creationJames, Viscount Severn
Born (1964-03-10) 10 March 1964 (age 60)
Buckingham Palace, London
SpouseSophie, Countess of Wessex
IssueLady Louise Windsor
James, Viscount Severn
Names
Edward Antony Richard Louis[1]
HouseHouse of Windsor
FatherPrince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh
MotherElizabeth II
Royal family of
the United Kingdom and the
other Commonwealth realms
Badge of the House of Windsor

Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex (Edward Antony Richard Louis; born 10 March 1964)[2] is the third son and fourth and youngest child of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. At the time of his birth, he was third in the line of succession to the thrones of ten independent Sovereign States known as the Commonwealth realms; however, after the births of two children each to his two elder brothers, and an evolution of the Commonwealth, Prince Edward is now seventh in line to the thrones of 16 countries: the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Jamaica, Barbados, the Bahamas, Grenada, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Tuvalu, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Belize, Antigua and Barbuda, and Saint Kitts and Nevis. Consequently, he is also seventh in line to the positions of Head of the Commonwealth (figurehead of the 54-member Commonwealth of Nations) and Supreme Governor of the Church of England.

Early life and education

Edward was born at Buckingham Palace on 10 March 1964, the fourth child and third son of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, and fifth grandchild of Queen Elizabeth, The Queen Mother. Baptised on 2 May 1964 in the Private Chapel at Windsor Castle[3] by the then Dean of Windsor, Robert Woods; the Prince's godparents were: Prince Richard of Gloucester (his cousin); the Duchess of Kent (his cousin by marriage, for whom Princess Marina, Duchess of Kent stood proxy); Princess George William of Hanover (his paternal aunt); the Prince of Hesse and by Rhine (his cousin); and the Earl of Snowdon (his maternal uncle).[4] As a child of the Sovereign, Edward was styled from birth as His Royal Highness and was entitled The Prince Edward.

As with his older siblings, a governess was appointed to look after the Prince and was responsible for his early education at Buckingham Palace. At the age of seven, Edward was then sent to Gibbs School before attending, in September 1972, Heatherdown Preparatory School, near Ascot. He then, as his father and elder brother had done before him, moved to Gordonstoun, in northern Scotland, and was appointed Head Boy in his last term. Edward obtained a C-grade and two D-grades at A-level,[5] and after his schooling spent a gap year abroad, working as a house tutor and junior master for two terms in September 1982 at the Wanganui Collegiate School in New Zealand.

Upon his return to Britain, Edward matriculated at Jesus College, Cambridge, to read history. His admission to Cambridge caused some controversy at the time, as his A-level grades were far below the standard normally required, "straight A-s", for entry to the university.[6] Edward graduated in 1986 with lower second class honours,[7] and, as is customary at Cambridge, proceeded Master of Arts (Cantab) in 1991, making Edward the fourth of only five members of the Royal Family in history to have obtained a university degree.

Career

On leaving university, Prince Edward joined the Royal Marines to train as an officer cadet; however, he resigned his commission in January 1987, before completing training. Edward thereafter became more involved in theatre, an activity he had enjoyed at school and university. In the late 1980s, he worked for two theatrical production companies, including Andrew Lloyd Webber's Really Useful Theatre Company, where he was part of plays such as The Phantom of the Opera, Starlight Express, and Cats. While there he commissioned the 1986 musical Cricket from Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice, for his mother's 60th birthday celebration. At the Really Useful Company, Edward met actress Ruthie Henshall, whom he dated for two years.

Edward's first foray into television production was the programme It's a Royal Knockout, in June 1987, in which teams sponsored by himself and other members of the Royal Family competed for charity. The media attacked the programme; it was reported that the Queen had not approved of the event and that her courtiers had advised against it.[citation needed]

In 1993, Edward formed Ardent Productions, under the name of Edward Windsor from 1995[8] and later Edward Wessex. Ardent was involved in the production of a number of documentaries and dramas,[9] but Edward was accused in the media of using his royal connections for financial gain,[10] although his activities were seemingly more kindly received in the United States.[11] A documentary on his great uncle, Edward VIII (later HRH The Duke of Windsor) in 1996[9] sold well around the globe.[12] The company reported losses for every year of its existence except one, and only then because Edward did not draw a salary.[8] An Ardent two-man film crew invaded the privacy of his nephew Prince William in September 2001 while he was studying at the University of St Andrews against industry guidelines regarding the Royals' privacy.[13] The Prince of Wales was reportedly angered by the incident.[14] In March 2002, the Prince announced that he would step down as director of production and joint managing director of Ardent[8] to concentrate on his public duties and to support the Queen during her Golden Jubilee year. Ardent Productions was voluntarily liquidated in June 2009 with assets of £40;[15] Edward had maintained a connection to the company as a non-executive director.[16] On 11 November 2010 Prince Edward attended Q3 Academy in Great Barr to formally open the £30 million building.

Marriage

File:Edward Sophie Wedding.jpg
The Earl and Countess on their wedding day in 1999
See also: Wedding of Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex, and Sophie Rhys-Jones

The Prince's engagement to Sophie Rhys-Jones, then a Public Relations executive with her own firm, was announced on 6 January 1999.

The wedding itself took place on 19 June of the same year at St George's Chapel at Windsor Castle. This was a break from the weddings of Edward's older siblings, which were large, formal events at Westminster Abbey or St Paul's Cathedral. On his wedding day, the Queen conferred on Prince Edward the titles of Earl of Wessex and Viscount Severn, again breaking with the tradition that the son of a sovereign is created a Duke. It was also announced at that time that the Earl of Wessex would be created Duke of Edinburgh when that dukedom, held by Edward's father since 1947, reverts to the Crown,[2][17], ie after his eldest brother Prince Charles' succession to his parents' titles, and that any children of the Earl and Countess would be styled as the children of an Earl, rather than as Princess and Royal Highness (as they would otherwise have been under the Letters Patent issued by King George V).[18] The Earl and Countess of Wessex have two children, Princess Louise and Prince James, and the family resides at Bagshot Park in Surrey.

Official duties

The Earl of Wessex, along with his wife, carries out a full schedule of royal duties on behalf of the Queen, receiving Civil List monies from the Queen of £141,000 per annum for their work in the United Kingdom,[19] and various amounts from the governments of the other realms for his work there.

The Earl has taken on many roles from his father, the Duke of Edinburgh, who is reducing some commitments owing to his advancing age. The Earl replaced him as President of the Commonwealth Games Federation (since 2006 its Vice-Patron) and opened the 1990 Commonwealth Games in New Zealand and the 1998 Commonwealth Games in Malaysia. He has also taken over the Duke's role in the Duke of Edinburgh's Award scheme, attending Gold Award ceremonies around the world.[citation needed]

Titles, styles, honours and arms

Titles and styles

Royal styles of
HRH the Earl of Wessex
Reference styleHis Royal Highness
Spoken styleYour Royal Highness
Alternative styleSir
  • 10 March 1964 – 19 June 1999: His Royal Highness The Prince Edward
  • 19 June 1999–: His Royal Highness The Earl of Wessex

The Prince's style and title 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 Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order, Honorary Member of the Saskatchewan Order of Merit, Aide-de-Camp to Her Majesty. The Earldom of Wessex has a distinguished royal history, the Kingdom of Wessex having played the leading role in the unification of Anglo-Saxon England. The last person to hold the title Earl of Wessex was Harold Godwinson, prior to his accession to the English throne in 1066.

It has been reported by The Sunday Telegraph that Prince Edward was originally to have been titled Duke of Cambridge after his marriage. However, after watching the 1998 film Shakespeare in Love, he was reportedly attracted to the title used by a character played by Colin Firth, and asked the Queen to be given the title of Earl of Wessex instead.[20]

Military ranks

Honours

Appointments
Decorations

Honorary degrees

Honorary military appointments

Canada Canada
United Kingdom United Kingdom

Honorary civic appointments

Arms

Coat of arms of Prince Edward, Duke of Edinburgh
Notes
The Earl's personal coat of arms is that of the Royal coat of arms of the United Kingdom with a label for difference
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
Supporters
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
Motto
The Order of the Garter ribbon.
Honi soit qui mal y pense
(Shame be to him who thinks evil of it)
Other elements
The whole differenced by a Label of three points Argent the central point charged with a Tudor rose.
Symbolism
As with the Royal Arms of the United Kingdom. The first and fourth quarters are the arms of England, the second of Scotland, the third of Ireland.

Ancestry

Family of Prince Edward, Duke of Edinburgh
16. Christian IX of Denmark
8. George I of Greece
17. Princess Louise of Hesse-Kassel
4. Prince Andrew of Greece and Denmark
18. Grand Duke Konstantin Nikolayevich of Russia
9. Grand Duchess Olga Constantinovna of Russia
19. Princess Alexandra of Saxe-Altenburg
2. Prince Philip of Greece and Denmark
20. Prince Alexander of Hesse and by Rhine
10. Prince Louis of Battenberg
21. Countess Julia Hauke
5. Princess Alice of Battenberg
22. Louis IV, Grand Duke of Hesse and by Rhine
11. Princess Victoria of Hesse and by Rhine
23. Princess Alice of the United Kingdom
1. Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex
24. Edward VII of the United Kingdom
12. George V of the United Kingdom
25. Princess Alexandra of Denmark
6. George VI of the United Kingdom
26. Francis, Duke of Teck
13. Princess Mary of Teck
27. Princess Mary Adelaide of Cambridge
3. Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom
28. Claude Bowes-Lyon, 13th Earl of Strathmore and Kinghorne
14. Claude Bowes-Lyon, 14th Earl of Strathmore and Kinghorne
29. Frances Dora Smith
7. Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon
30. Charles Cavendish-Bentinck
15. Cecilia Cavendish-Bentinck
31. Caroline Louisa Burnaby

Issue

Name Birth Marriage Issue
Lady Louise Windsor 8 November 2003
James, Viscount Severn 17 December 2007[28]

See also

References

  1. ^ 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)
  2. ^ a b "The Royal Family > Members of the Royal Family > TRH The Earl and Countess of Wessex". Buckingham Palace. Retrieved 19 March 2008.
  3. ^ "Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex". The House Of Windsor. English Monarchs. Retrieved 7 January 2009. He was baptised on 2 May 1964 at the private chapel at Windsor Castle by the Dean of Windsor and was given the names Edward Anthony Richard Louis.
  4. ^ Yvonne's Royalty Home Page – Royal Christenings
  5. ^ "The family qualifications". The Daily Telegraph. London. 16 October 2006.
  6. ^ "The prince with a difference". BBC News Online. 11 June 1999.
  7. ^ Watson, Jeremy (12 June 2005). "William enjoys a degree of success". The Scotsman. Edinburgh.
  8. ^ a b c Beckett, Andy (5 March 2002). "It's a royal cock-up". The Guardian. London.
  9. ^ a b Ardent Productions Filoography, BFI Film & TV Database
  10. ^ Karlin, Susan (26 September 1998). "Edward Windsor: Truly a Prince Among Producers". Los Angeles Times.
  11. ^ "Edward: No intention to offend". BBC News Online. 2 September 1999.
  12. ^ Summerskill, Ben (29 October 2000). "Losses double at Prince's TV firm". The Guardian. London.
  13. ^ "Edward's turbulent media career". BBC News Online. 27 September 2001.
  14. ^ Alderson, Andrew (30 September 2001). "Prince Edward to apologise to Queen and agrees to stop making royal films". The Sunday Telegraph. London.
  15. ^ Moore, Matthew (29 March 2010). "Prince Edward's Ardent Productions left with assets of just £40". The Daily Telegraph. London.
  16. ^ Young, Andrew (27 March 2010). "Prince Edward's failed TV firm turns investors' £2.2m into just £40.27". Daily Mail. London.
  17. ^ "A Royal Anniversary: The Earl of Wessex Turns 40". Royal Insight (March 2004). Buckingham Palace. 2004. Retrieved 26 October 2008. {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
  18. ^ "The Royal Family > Members of the Royal Family > HRH The Earl of Wessex > Marriage and Family". Buckingham Palace. Retrieved 26 October 2008.
  19. ^ "The Monarchy Today > Royal Finances > Financial Arrangements of Other Members of the Royal Family". Buckingham Palace. Retrieved 11 December 2007.
  20. ^ Eden, Richard (12 December 2010). "Royal wedding: Prince William asks the Queen not to make him a duke". The Sunday Telegraph. London. Retrieved 12 December 2010.
  21. ^ "St George's Chapel > History > Orders of Chivalry". St George's Chapel. Retrieved 27 October 2008. [dead link]
  22. ^ The Earl of Wessex appointed GVCO, 10 March 2011 Buckingham Palace. Retrieved 20 March 2011
  23. ^ "Prince Edward Awarded Saskatchewan Order of Merit" (Press release). Government of Saskatchewan. 11 May 2005. Retrieved 27 October 2008.
  24. ^ "Prince Edward gives medals to P.E.I. soldiers". CTV. 14 October 2007. Retrieved 11 July 2009.
  25. ^ "Prince Edward to visit Canada". Globe and Mail. Toronto. Canadian Press. 5 September 2007.
  26. ^ All The Queen's Horses: fourth RCMP steed crosses Atlantic to join Royal Mews
  27. ^ "London Gazette". Retrieved 8 May 2011.
  28. ^ "Edward and Sophie name their new baby James". The Daily Mail. 21 December 2007. Retrieved 3 May 2011.
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex.
Prince Edward, Duke of Edinburgh
Born: 10 March 1964
British royalty
Preceded by Line of succession to the British throne
7th position 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Line of succession to the
Dukedom of Edinburgh
5th position
Peerage of the United Kingdom
New creation Earl of Wessex
2nd creation
19 June 1999 – present 		Incumbent
Heir Apparent:
Viscount Severn
Orders of precedence in the United Kingdom
Preceded by Gentlemen
HRH The Earl of Wessex 		Succeeded by
Gentlemen
in current practice 		Succeeded by

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