Edward Mountbatten-Windor

**Prince Edward, Duke of Edinburgh** (Edward Antony Richard Louis; born March 10,1964) is a member of the British royal family. He is the youngest child of Queen Elizabeth II and  Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. Edward is 14th in line of succession to the British throne.

Edward was made Earl of Wessex prior to marrying  Sophie, Countess of Wessex in 1999. The Earl and Countess of Wessex have two children: Lady Louise Mountbatten-Windsor and  James, Viscount Severn . Edward was given the additional title of Earl of Forfar in 2019.

## Life

Prince Edward was born on 10 March 1964 at Buckingham Palace, London. His birth was the only one witnessed by his father. He was baptized on 2 May 1964 in the private chapel at Windsor Castle.

As with his three older siblings, Charles, Anne, and Andrew, a governess was appointed to look after Edward and was responsible for his early education at Buckingham Palace before he attended Collingham College, Kensington (then known as Gibbs School). In September 1972, he joined Heatherdown School, near Ascot in Berkshire. Later, as his father and elder brothers had done before him, he 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, and after leaving school spent a gap year abroad, working as a house tutor and junior master for two terms at the Wanganui Collegiate School in New Zealand.

Upon his return to Britain, Edward studied at Jesus College, Cambridge, where he read History. His admission to Cambridge despite his A-Level results caused some controversy. Edward graduated in 1986 with a BA degree (lower second class honours).

## Personal Life

Edward met  Sophie, Countess of Wessex for the first time in 1987 when he was dating her friend. They met again at a promotion shoot for the Prince Edward Summer Challenge to raise money for charity in 1993, and the two began their relationship soon afterwards. Edward proposed to Sophie at a holiday in the Bahamas in December 1998 and their engagement was announced on 6 January 1999. Edward proposed to Sophie with an Asprey and Garrard engagement ring worth an estimated £105,000: a two-carat oval diamond flanked by two heart-shaped gemstones set in 18-carat white gold.

Their wedding took place on 19 June 1999 in St George's Chapel at Windsor Castle. This was a departure from the weddings of his elder brothers, which were large, formal events at Westminster Abbey or St Paul's Cathedral, and had ended in divorce. On his wedding day, Prince Edward was created Earl of Wessex, with the subsidiary title of Viscount Severn (derived from the Welsh roots of the Countess's family), breaking from a tradition whereby sons of the sovereign were created royal dukes. However, on the wishes of the Queen, he will be made Duke of Edinburgh (the title held by Edward's father, Prince Philip, between 1947 and his death in 2021) after that dukedom reverts to the Crown, upon the death of the Queen. Formally however, the title has now been inherited by Prince Philip's eldest son, Prince Charles, and it is his decision as to its subsequent destination. Edward's children are styled as the children of an Earl, rather than as *prince/ss* and *royal highness*.

He and his wife have two children: Lady Louise Mountbatten-Windsor , born 8 November 2003, and  James, Viscount Severn born 17 December 2007. They were born at Frimley Park Hospital in Surrey. They reside at Bagshot Park in Surrey. While their country residence is Bagshot Park, their office and official London residence is based at Buckingham Palace.

## Tittles and Succession

* March 10, 1964 – June 19, 1999: *His Royal Highness The Prince Edward*
* June 19, 1999 – March 10, 2023: *His Royal Highness The Earl of Wessex*
	+ *in Scotland*: March 10, 2019 – present: *His Royal Highness The Earl of Forfar*
* March 10, 2023 - present: *His Royal Highness The Duke of Edinburgh*

Before Edward's marriage in 1999, royal commentators conjectured that former royal dukedoms such as Cambridge or Sussex might be granted to him. Instead, the Palace announced the intention that Prince Edward would eventually be created Duke of Edinburgh, once that title had reverted to The Crown upon the death of both his parents.

On his marriage in 1999, the prince was ennobled in keeping with tradition; however he was the first prince since the Tudors to be created an earl rather than a duke (while reserving the rank of duke for the future). *The Sunday Telegraph* reported that he was drawn to the Earldom of Wessex after watching the 1998 film *Shakespeare in Love*, in which a character with that title is played by Colin Firth. The prince was also given the subsidiary title of Viscount Severn, which subsequently became the courtesy title of his son and heir.

On 10 March 2019, on his 55th birthday, Edward was granted the additional title of Earl of Forfar for use in Scotland. He was created Duke of Edinburgh on the same day four years later in 2023. He has at times been referred to as the Earl of Wessex and Forfar, such as at the funeral of his father and the state funeral of his mother.