James, Earl of Wessex

James, Earl of Wessex
James Alexander Philip Theo Mountbatten-Windsor, Earl of Wessex (born 17 December 2007), is the younger child and son of Prince Edward, Duke of Edinburgh, and Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh. He is the youngest grandchild of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, and the youngest nephew of King Charles III. At the time of his birth, he was 8th in line to the British throne. As of 2023, he is 15th.
Birth and baptism
James was born at Frimley Park Hospital in Surrey on 17 December 2007 by caesarean section. His full name, James Alexander Philip Theo, was announced on 21 December.
James was baptised on 19 April 2008, in the private chapel of Windsor Castle by David Conner, Dean of Windsor, witnessed by his godparents, Alastair Bruce, Duncan Bullivant, Thomas Hill, Denise Poulton and Jeanye Irwin, and his grandparents, Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh.
Education
From 2011 to 2021, he attended Eagle House School, a coeducational preparatory school near Sandhurst, Berkshire. He has also trained with St John Ambulance cadets.
Official appearances
In April 2015, James (then styled Viscount Severn) and his elder sister, Lady Louise, participated in their first overseas engagement by accompanying their parents on a trip to South Africa. In September 2020, he joined his parents to help the Great British Beach Clean at Southsea Beach in Hampshire, in support of the Marine Conservation Society.
Following the memorial service for his grandfather Prince Philip on 29 March 2022, Viscount Severn attended the Platinum Jubilee National Service of Thanksgiving and the Platinum Party at the Palace in June 2022.
On 17 September 2022, during the period of official mourning for his grandmother Queen Elizabeth II, James joined his sister and six cousins to mount a 15-minute vigil around the coffin of the late Queen, as it lay in state at Westminster Hall. On 19 September, Lord Severn joined other family members at the state funeral.
On 6 May 2023, James (now Earl of Wessex) attended the coronation of his uncle Charles III at Westminster Abbey, together with the rest of the royal family. During the procession from Westminster Abbey to Buckingham Palace, he travelled in one of the horse-drawn coaches with his parents and sister. The next day they attended the Coronation Concert at Windsor Castle.
Titles, styles, and honours
Titles and styles
The title Viscount Severn alludes to the Welsh roots of Sophie's family, which James was accorded at birth, as heir apparent to his father's earldom.
Letters patent issued in 1917 assign a princely status and the style of Royal Highness to all male-line grandchildren of a sovereign. When his parents married, Buckingham Palace announced that their children would be styled as the children of an earl, rather than as prince or princess. In 2020, James's mother reaffirmed that James and his sister Louise retained the right to their royal titles and styles and could make a choice on whether to use them from the age of 18.
On his father being elevated as Duke of Edinburgh, James became styled by courtesy as Earl of Wessex, now the family's senior subsidiary title. The Dukedom of Edinburgh, being created as a life peerage, will become extinct upon his father's death, but as heir apparent to his father's hereditary peerages: Earl of Wessex, Earl of Forfar, and Viscount Severn, he is in line to succeed to the substantive title of Earl of Wessex, etc.
Honours and decorations
James is eligible for the following medals:
6 February 2012: Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal
6 February 2022: Queen Elizabeth II Platinum Jubilee Medal
6 May 2023: King Charles III Coronation Medal
In June 2008, to recognise Prince Edward's visit to the Canadian province of Manitoba, the Lieutenant Governor of Manitoba named a lake in the north of the province after Viscount Severn. James's sister, Lady Louise, was similarly honoured by lending her name to Lake Louise in the same province.
See also
List of courtesy titles in the peerages of Britain and Ireland
References
2007 births
Living people
People from Bagshot
People from Frimley
21st-century English people
English Anglicans
James, Earl of Wessex
English people of Danish descent
English people of German descent
English people of Greek descent
English people of Russian descent
English people of Scottish descent
Courtesy earls
James
James
People educated at Eagle House School
People educated at St George's School, Windsor Castle
James, Earl of Wessex
James