Edward was given the title ofEarl of Wessex prior tomarryingSophie Rhys-Jones in 1999. They have two children:Louise andJames. Edward's mother conferred him the additional title ofEarl of Forfar in 2019. On Edward's 59th birthday in 2023, his brother Charles III granted him the titleDuke of Edinburgh as alife peerage, a dukedom previously held by their father, who died in 2021, then briefly by Charles.
Edward was born at 8:20pm on 10 March 1964 atBuckingham Palace, London,[2] the third son and the fourth and youngest child ofQueen Elizabeth II andPrince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. He was the most recent child born to a reigning British monarch, and his was the only one of their children whose birth was witnessed by his father.[3] Edward wasbaptised on 2 May in the private chapel atWindsor Castle.[4]
After graduating in 1986, Edward joined theRoyal Marines, who had reportedly sponsored his tuition at Cambridge on the understanding that he would undertake future service.[11] He had originally signed up in 1983.[12] In January 1987, he withdrew from the commando course after completing one-third of the 12‑month training. Media reports suggested that Prince Philip, thenCaptain General Royal Marines, was displeased,[13] but Edward later stated that his father had not put undue pressure on him to reconsider.[9] Others noted that Philip was, in fact, the most sympathetic family member toward his son's decision.[14] Buckingham Palace said that Edward's choice followed "much consideration" and that he was leaving with great regret, "but has concluded that he does not wish to make the service his long‑term career".[15]
Edward's first foray into television production wasThe Grand Knockout Tournament, informally known asIt's a Royal Knockout, broadcast on 15 June 1987. Four teams sponsored by Edward, his siblings Anne and Andrew, and Andrew's then wife,Sarah, competed for charity. The programme attracted criticism from the media and the public, and it was later reported that the Queen had not been in favour of the event, with her courtiers having advised against it.[17] The broadcast nonetheless raised over £1,500,000 for its selected charities.[18]
In 1993, Edward founded the television production company Ardent Productions.[19] Ardent produced a number of documentaries and dramas,[20] but Edward was accused in the media of using his royal connections for financial gain.[21] Industry insiders described the company as "a sad joke" citing a perceived lack of professionalism in its operations.[19]Andy Beckett, writing inThe Guardian, remarked that "to watch Ardent's few dozen hours of broadcast output is to enter a strange kingdom where every man in Britain still wears a tie, where pieces to camera are done in cricket jumpers, where people clasp their hands behind their backs like guardsmen. Commercial breaks are filled with army recruiting advertisements".[19]
Ardent's productions were better received in the United States,[22] and a documentary Edward made in 1996 about his great-uncleEdward VIII (the Duke of Windsor) sold well internationally.[20][23] Nonetheless, the company reported losses every year it operated, except for one year in which Edward did not draw a salary.[19] In September 2001, an Ardent two‑man film crew allegedly invaded the privacy of Edward's nephew,Prince William, while he was studying at theUniversity of St Andrews, in breach of industry guidelines concerning the privacy of members of the royal family.[24] William’s father, Edward's elder brother Charles, was reportedly angered by the incident.[25]
In March 2002, Edward announced that he would step down as production director and joint managing director of Ardent[19] to focus on his public duties and support the Queen duringher Golden Jubilee year. Ardent Productions was voluntarily dissolved in June 2009, with assets reduced to just £40.[26]
Edward metSophie Rhys-Jones in 1987 when he was dating one of her friends.[27] They met again in 1993 at a promotional shoot for the Prince Edward Summer Challenge, a charity event, and began their relationship soon afterwards.[3][28] In December 1993, amid growing speculation that they were planning to marry, Edward wrote to newspaper editors denying any wedding plans and asking the media to respect their privacy.[29] He proposed to Sophie while on holiday inthe Bahamas in December 1998, and their engagement was announced on 6 January 1999.[3][30] He presented her with anAsprey andGarrard engagement ring worth an estimated £105,000, featuring a two-carat oval diamond flanked by two heart-shaped gemstones set in 18-carat white gold.[31]
The family's country residence isBagshot Park, while their office and official London home is atBuckingham Palace.[40] Edward's initial lease of Bagshot Park in 1998 was for 50 years at £5,000 a year, with theCrown Estate as landlord.[41] Approximately £3 million was spent on refurbishment, of which Edward paid £1.36 million, after which the rent rose to £90,000 a year.[41] In 2007, he extended the lease to 150 years; it was reported that he subsequently paid apeppercorn rent in return for an upfront payment of £5 million.[41]
The Earl and Countess of Wessex established their foundation, the Bagshot Park Charity, later renamed the Wessex Youth Trust, in 1999, with a focus on helping, supporting, and advancing registered charities that provide opportunities specifically for children and young people.[42][43] Twenty years after its inception, the Wessex Youth Trust changed its name to the Earl and Countess of Wessex Charitable Trust, managed by theprivate office of the Earl and Countess of Wessex and Forfar. It was announced that the trust's broad charitable objectives would not change; however, its future efforts would be directed towards supporting a different range of charities.[44] In July 2023, the trust's remaining funds were transferred to the Edinburgh Trust No. 2, which had originally been set up in 1964.[43][45]
The Earl of Wessex assumed many duties from his father, Prince Philip, as Philip reduced his commitments before retiring from royal duties. Edward opened the1990 Commonwealth Games in New Zealand and the1998 Commonwealth Games in Malaysia, and in 2006 became vice-patron ofCommonwealth Games Federation, taking on his father's ceremonial responsibilities; Philip had served as president.[62][63] He has also taken over his father's role in theDuke of Edinburgh's Award (DofE) scheme, attending Gold Award ceremonies around the world.[64]
In September 2007, the Earl visited Israel in his capacity as Chairman of the International Council of theDuke of Edinburgh's Award to attend a number of events organised by the Israel Youth Award program, an affiliate of the Duke of Edinburgh's Award.[65] Edward had himself received the Award's gold medal in 1986 for "a 60-mile, four-day trek fromBlair Atholl toTomintoul" that he had planned.[66] He has been a trustee of the DofE since 1988 and of the International Award since 2006. Edward later became chair of trustees of the Duke of Edinburgh's International Award in 2015,[67] and was named patron of the Duke of Edinburgh's Award in 2023.[68] He has promoted the charity's work on different occasions.[69][70][71][72]
Edward is also a trustee of the International Award Association, which "encompasses the DofE UK and all its other 61 National Award Authorities across the globe".[73] He served as Chairman of the DofE's international council and, in 1999, founded the International Special Projects Group "to provide a capital fund to broaden the reach of the Award".[74] In 2018, Edward, as patron of the Tennis and Rackets Association, played on all 50 real tennis courts around the world and raised over £2 million for the Duke of Edinburgh's Award scheme.[75]
Edward opening a youth centre atYate, Gloucestershire, in 2011
In June 2011, Edward visitedBaltimore to meet students and staff of the Living Classrooms Foundation and encourage their participation in the Duke of Edinburgh's Award's programme.[76] In December 2011, the Earl and Countess of Wessex visited troops in Afghanistan. During the same trip, the couple travelled toBahrain, where they received two gifts of jewels from theBahraini royal family andPrime Minister. Given concern about human rights abuses in Bahrain, the gifts attracted controversy, with calls for the jewels to be sold, and the proceeds used for the benefit of theBahraini people.[77]
In May 2016, the Earl visitedGhana, where he joined President Mahama in presenting young people with the Head of State Awards for their participation in the Duke of Edinburgh's International Award Scheme.[84] In September 2016, Edward travelled to Chile as part of the Duke of Edinburgh's Award's diamond anniversary and visited projects run by the British and Commonwealth Fire and Rescue Company and Chilean-British Culture University, of which he is an honorary member and patron respectively.[85]
In July 2019, the Earl and Countess of Wessex visitedForfar on their first official visit to the royal burgh since the Queen granted Edward the additional title Earl of Forfar in March 2019.[91] The Earl was presented with 'Earl of Forfar'tartan, designed by Forfar's Strathmore Woollen Company to mark their new titles.[92][93][94] In 2020, he took over the patronage ofLondon Youth from his father, who had held the position for 73 years.[95]
In February 2022, Edward was appointed president of theRoyal Windsor Horse Show, a position previously held by his father Prince Philip.[96] The following month, he visited Kenya to oversee the progress ofthe Duke of Edinburgh's International Award in the country.[97] In April 2022, the Earl and Countess of Wessex and Forfar toured Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, and Antigua and Barbuda to mark theQueen's Platinum Jubilee.[98] Their planned visit to Grenada was postponed after discussions with theisland's government andgovernor-general, and the couple expressed their hope to visit at a later date.[99] In 2022, and in recognition of his role as patron of the Production Guild, the Earl of Wessex Award was created as part of the Guild's inaugural Talent Showcase to recognise UK film and television organisations that had developed "a successful way of inspiring local talent or skills, widening access or being more inclusive."[100][101]
In 1999, Edward was criticised by LabourMPsJohn Cryer andLindsay Hoyle for comments he made during an interview withThe New York Times, in which he stated that in Britain "They [the British media] hate anyone who succeeds" and "America is where the money is".[107][108] The criticism prompted him to issue a statement clarifying "that offending the British public was the very last thing I would have wanted to do".[108]
Until his marriage, Edward was known as "His Royal Highness The Prince Edward". On 19 June 1999, he became "His Royal Highness The Earl of Wessex". At the time of his marriage, Buckingham Palace announced the intention that Edward would eventually be createdDuke of Edinburgh, a title then held by his father, Prince Philip, once it hadmerged with the Crown following the death of both his parents.[110] On 10 March 2019, his 55th birthday, Edward was granted the additional title ofEarl of Forfar for use inScotland.[111][112][113] On his 59th birthday, 10 March 2023, Edward was created Duke of Edinburgh, thus becoming "His Royal Highness The Duke of Edinburgh".[114][115] Hisducal title is not hereditary and will revert to the crown on his death.[116]
In 1994, theIndependent Royalist Party of Estonia, which aspired to establish a monarchy in the country, sent a letter to Queen Elizabeth II requesting permission to crown Edward as King of Estonia. The letter described Edward as a "young British prince much admired by Estonians", and stated that the party "would be most honoured if you would accept this rare request". Buckingham Palace declined, calling it "a charming idea but a rather unlikely one".[117][118]
TheCoronet of a son of a Sovereign Proper, thereon a Lion statant gardant Or crowned of the Same charged with a Label as in the Arms.
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; over all a Label Argent, charged on the centre point with a Tudor Rose.
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 pattées and Fleurs de lis a Chain affixed thereto passing between the forelegs and reflexed over the back also Or.
TheRoyal Standard of the United Kingdom labelled for difference as in his Arms. The Royal Standard in Scotland labelled for difference as in his Arms. TheRoyal Arms of Canada defaced with a blueRoundel surrounded by a Wreath of Gold Maple Leaves within which is a depiction of an"E" surmounted by a Royal Coronet, and above the Roundel is a white Label of three points, the centre one charged with a Tudor Rose.[123][124]
Symbolism
As with the Royal Arms of the United Kingdom, the first and fourth quarterings are the arms of England, the second of Scotland and the third of Ireland.
^As a member of the royal family, Edward does not usually use a family name but when one is needed, it isMountbatten-Windsor.[1] The middle name Louis is pronounced/ˈluːi/.
^Seward, Ingrid (2017). "Chapter 9: Watching the Family Grow".My Husband and I: The Inside Story of 70 Years of the Royal Marriage. Simon & Schuster.ISBN978-1471159589.
^"The Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex".Public Register of Arms, Flags and Badges. Office of the Governor General of Canada: Canadian Heraldic Authority.Archived from the original on 24 November 2020. Retrieved4 January 2016.
^Paget, Gerald (1977).The Lineage and Ancestry of H.R.H. Prince Charles, Prince of Wales(2 vols). Edinburgh: Charles Skilton.ISBN978-0-284-40016-1.
1 Not a British prince by birth, but createdPrince Consort.2 Not a British prince by birth, but created a Prince of the United Kingdom. Princes whose titles were removed and eligible people who do not use the title are shown in italics.
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