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Prince Edward, Duke of Edinburgh

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"The Earl of Wessex" redirects here. For other people known as Earl of Wessex, see Earl of Wessex.
Prince Edward
Earl of Wessex
File:Edward Sophie Wedding.jpg
The Earl and Countess on their wedding day
Earl of Wessex
Viscount Severn
Heir-ApparentJames, Viscount Severn
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
Occupationprev. television; theatre; military
Royal family of
the United Kingdom and the
other Commonwealth realms
Badge of the House of Windsor

The Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex (Edward Antony Richard Louis; born 10 March 1964[2]) is the third son and fourth 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 states; however, after additions to the Royal Family, and an evolution of the Commonwealth, Edward is currently sixth in line to the thrones of 16 countries. He is resident in and most directly involved with the United Kingdom, the oldest realm, while also carrying out duties in and on behalf of the other states of which his mother is sovereign.

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 in the Private Chapel at Windsor Castle by then Dean of Windsor, Robert Woods, the Prince's godparents were Prince Richard; Prince Louis of Hesse and by Rhine; Antony Armstrong-Jones, Earl of Snowdon; Katharine, Duchess of Kent, for whom Princess Marina, Duchess of Kent, stood proxy; and Princess Sophie of Greece and Denmark, his paternal aunt. As the child of the sovereign, Edward was styled from birth as His Royal Highness and held the title 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. After graduation, Edward 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 the United Kingdom, Edward enrolled in Jesus College at the University of Cambridge, reading history. He graduated with a third class Bachelor of Arts degree in 1986, and was subsequently awarded a Master of Arts (Cantabury) degree 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; however, he resigned his commissio in January 1987, before graduation. 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 Phantom of the Opera, Starlight Express, and Cats. It was there that Edward met actress Ruthie Henshall, whom he dated for two years.

Edward's first foray into the world of 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. Though the show was controversial, it having been reported that the Queen had not approved of the event and that her courtiers had advised against it, in 1993, Edward went on to form the Ardent Television production company, under the name of Edward Windsor, and later Edward Wessex; this led The Guardian, for one, to refer to him as "the Edward formerly known as Prince."[3] Adrent was heavily involed in the production of documentaries and dramas, particularly of material for the Prince's 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 for all years of its 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.

Marriage

The Prince's engagement to Sophie Rhys-Jones, then a public relations manager with her own firm, was announced on 6 January 1999, and the wedding 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.

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 the current creation of that dukedom, held by Edward's father since 1947, reverts to the Crown,[4][2] and that any children of the Earl and Countess would not use the title of Prince or Princess with the style Royal Highness, to which they are entitled under Letters Patent issued by King George V.[5] The Earl and Countess of Wessex bore two children, 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,[6] and various amounts from the governments of the other realms for his work there.

File:Earl of Wessex Visit.jpg
The Earl of Wessex meets a Monarchist League of Canada volunteer in Toronto, 2005.

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, attending gold award ceremonies around the world. His other appointments reflect his interests in sport and the arts.

Titles, styles, honours and arms

Titles and styles

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 Anony 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. 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 to hold the title Earl of Wessex was Harold Godwinson, prior to his accession to the English throne as King Harold II in 1066.

King of 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.[7]

Military ranks

Honours

Appointments
Decorations

Honorary degrees

Honorary military appointments

Canada Canada
United Kingdom United Kingdom

Arms

Coat of arms of Prince Edward, Duke of Edinburgh
Notes
The Earl's personalized coat of arms are those 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
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.


Ancestry

Family of Prince Edward, Duke of Edinburgh
16. Christian IX of Denmark
8. George I of Greece
17. Louise of Hesse-Kassel (or Hesse-Cassel)
4. Prince Andrew of Greece and Denmark
18. Grand Duke Konstantine Nicholaievich of Russia
9. Olga Konstantinovna of Russia
19. Alexandra Iosifovna of Altenburg
2. Prince Philip of Greece and Denmark
20. Prince Alexander of Hesse and by Rhine
10. Louis Mountbatten, 1st Marquess of Milford Haven
21. Julia von Hauke
5. Princess Alice of Battenberg
22. Louis IV, Grand Duke of Hesse
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. Alexandra of Denmark
6. George VI of the United Kingdom
26. Francis, Duke of Teck
13. 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 William Frederick Cavendish-Bentinck
15. Cecilia Cavendish-Bentinck
31. Caroline Louisa Burnaby

Issue

Name Birth Marriage Issue
Lady Louise Windsor (Princess Louise of Wessex) 8 November 2003
James, Viscount Severn (Prince James of Wessex) 17 December 2007

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 2008-03-19.
  3. ^ "Wessex Prince... Or Having Your Cake and Eating it", The Guardian, 22 June {{citation}}: Check date values in: |date= and |year= / |date= mismatch (help)
  4. ^ "A Royal Anniversary: The Earl of Wessex Turns 40". Royal Insight (March 2004). Buckingham Palace. March 2004. Retrieved 2008-10-26.
  5. ^ "The Royal Family > Members of the Royal Family > HRH The Earl of Wessex > Marriage and Family". Buckingham Palace. Retrieved 2008-10-26.
  6. ^ "The Monarchy Today > Royal Finances > Financial Arrangements of Other Members of the Royal Family". Buckingham Palace. Retrieved 2007-12-11.
  7. ^ Mayer, Jeremy D. (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. {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help); Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)CS1 maint: date and year (link)
  8. ^ "St George's Chapel > History > Orders of Chivalry". St George's Chapel. Retrieved 2008-10-27.
  9. ^ "Prince Edward Awarded Saskatchewan Order of Merit" (Press release). Government of Saskatchewan. 11 May 2005. Retrieved 2008-10-27.
  10. ^ Canadian Press (5 September), "Prince Edward to visit Canada", Globe and Mail {{citation}}: Check date values in: |date= and |year= / |date= mismatch (help)
Prince Edward, Duke of Edinburgh
Born: 10 March 1964
British royalty
Preceded by Line of succession to the British Throne
7th position 		Succeeded by
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

Template:Persondata

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