PRINCE EDWARD ANTONY RICHARD LOUIS
Prince Edward Antony Richard Louis was born at Buckingham Palace, on 10 March 1964, the third son and fourth and youngest child of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. Baptised on 2 May 1964 in the Private Chapel at Windsor Castle by the then Dean of Windsor, Robin Woods.
As with his older siblings, a governess was appointed to look after Edward 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 School, near Ascot in Berkshire. He then, as his father and elder brothers 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, and after leaving school 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, where he read history. His admission to Cambridge caused some controversy at the time, since his A-level grades were far below the standard normally required, "straight As", for Oxbridge entrance. Edward graduated in 1986 as BA (lower second class honours) and proceeded Master of Arts (Cantab) in 1991, making him the fourth of only five members of the Royal Family in history to have obtained a university degree.
As with his older siblings, a governess was appointed to look after Edward 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 School, near Ascot in Berkshire. He then, as his father and elder brothers 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, and after leaving school 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, where he read history. His admission to Cambridge caused some controversy at the time, since his A-level grades were far below the standard normally required, "straight As", for Oxbridge entrance. Edward graduated in 1986 as BA (lower second class honours) and proceeded Master of Arts (Cantab) in 1991, making him the fourth of only five members of the Royal Family in history to have obtained a university degree.
CAREERS
Prince Edward made two very public attempts to pursue a career but, after failing at both, returned to his life as full-time member of the royal family.
On leaving university, Edward joined the Royal Marines as an officer cadet, having been sponsored by the Marines with £12,000 towards his tuition at Cambridge University on condition of future service. However, in January 1987 he dropped out of the gruelling commando course after completing just one third of the 12-month training. Media reported, at the time, that the move prompted a berating from Prince Philip who "reduced his son to prolonged tears."
After leaving the Marines, Edward opted for a career in entertainment. He commissioned the 1986 musical Cricket from Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice, for his mother's 60th birthday celebration, which led to a job offer at Lloyd Webber's Really Useful Theatre Company, where he worked as a production assistant on musicals such as The Phantom of the Opera, Starlight Express, and Cats. His duties reportedly involved making tea for the artistic staff. While there he met actress Ruthie Henshall, whom he dated for three years.
Edward's first foray into television production was the programme The Grand Knockout Tournament, informally known as It's a Royal Knockout, on 15 June 1987, in which teams sponsored by him, Princess Anne and the Dukeand Duchess of York competed for charity. The media attacked the programme; it was later reported that the Queen was not in favour of the event and that her courtiers had all advised against it.
In 1993, Edward formed Ardent Productions, under the name of Edward Windsor from 1995, and, after his marriage in 1999, as Edward Wessex. Ardent was involved in the production of a number of documentaries and dramas, but Edward was accused in the media of using his royal connections for financial gain, and the company was referred to by some industry insiders as "a sad joke" due to a perceived lack of professionalism in its operations. The Guardian opined 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".
Ardent's productions were somewhat better received in the United States and a documentary Edward made about his great-uncle, Edward VIII (the late Duke of Windsor) in 1996, sold well worldwide. Nonetheless, the company reported losses every year it operated save one when Edward did not draw a salary. An Ardent two-man film crew was alleged to have invaded the privacy of his nephew, Prince William in September 2001, when he was studying at the University of St Andrews, against industry guidelines regarding the Royals' privacy. The Prince of Wales was reportedly angered by the incident. In March 2002, Edward announced that he would step down as production director and joint managing director of Ardent to concentrate on his public duties and to support the Queen during her Golden Jubilee year. Ardent Productions was voluntarily dissolved in June 2009, with assets reduced to just £40. Edward's original backers in the venture are said to "have lost every penny".
On leaving university, Edward joined the Royal Marines as an officer cadet, having been sponsored by the Marines with £12,000 towards his tuition at Cambridge University on condition of future service. However, in January 1987 he dropped out of the gruelling commando course after completing just one third of the 12-month training. Media reported, at the time, that the move prompted a berating from Prince Philip who "reduced his son to prolonged tears."
After leaving the Marines, Edward opted for a career in entertainment. He commissioned the 1986 musical Cricket from Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice, for his mother's 60th birthday celebration, which led to a job offer at Lloyd Webber's Really Useful Theatre Company, where he worked as a production assistant on musicals such as The Phantom of the Opera, Starlight Express, and Cats. His duties reportedly involved making tea for the artistic staff. While there he met actress Ruthie Henshall, whom he dated for three years.
Edward's first foray into television production was the programme The Grand Knockout Tournament, informally known as It's a Royal Knockout, on 15 June 1987, in which teams sponsored by him, Princess Anne and the Dukeand Duchess of York competed for charity. The media attacked the programme; it was later reported that the Queen was not in favour of the event and that her courtiers had all advised against it.
In 1993, Edward formed Ardent Productions, under the name of Edward Windsor from 1995, and, after his marriage in 1999, as Edward Wessex. Ardent was involved in the production of a number of documentaries and dramas, but Edward was accused in the media of using his royal connections for financial gain, and the company was referred to by some industry insiders as "a sad joke" due to a perceived lack of professionalism in its operations. The Guardian opined 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".
Ardent's productions were somewhat better received in the United States and a documentary Edward made about his great-uncle, Edward VIII (the late Duke of Windsor) in 1996, sold well worldwide. Nonetheless, the company reported losses every year it operated save one when Edward did not draw a salary. An Ardent two-man film crew was alleged to have invaded the privacy of his nephew, Prince William in September 2001, when he was studying at the University of St Andrews, against industry guidelines regarding the Royals' privacy. The Prince of Wales was reportedly angered by the incident. In March 2002, Edward announced that he would step down as production director and joint managing director of Ardent to concentrate on his public duties and to support the Queen during her Golden Jubilee year. Ardent Productions was voluntarily dissolved in June 2009, with assets reduced to just £40. Edward's original backers in the venture are said to "have lost every penny".
Prince Edward married long time girlfriend Sophie Rhys-Jones on June 19, 1999.
Edward met Sophie Rhys-Jones, then a public relations executive with her own firm, in 1994. 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 Edward's older siblings, which were large, formal events at Westminster Abbey or St Paul's Cathedral. On his wedding day, Prince Edward was created a hereditary peer as Earl of Wessex with the subsidiary title of Viscount Severn, again breaking from a tradition whereby sons of the Sovereign were created royal dukes. It was however revealed that the Queen wishes that he be elevated from the rank of Earl to Duke of Edinburgh after that dukedom, held by Prince Philip since 1947, reverts to the Crown (namely, after "both the death of the current Duke of Edinburgh and the Prince of Wales' succession as King"), and for his children to be styled as the children of an Earl, rather than as Prince/ss and Royal Highness.
He and his wife Sophie have two children: Lady Louise Windsor, born 8 November 2003, and James, Viscount Severn, born 17 December 2007, and they reside at Bagshot Park in Surrey.
Their wedding took place on 19 June 1999 in St George's Chapel at Windsor Castle. This was a departure 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, Prince Edward was created a hereditary peer as Earl of Wessex with the subsidiary title of Viscount Severn, again breaking from a tradition whereby sons of the Sovereign were created royal dukes. It was however revealed that the Queen wishes that he be elevated from the rank of Earl to Duke of Edinburgh after that dukedom, held by Prince Philip since 1947, reverts to the Crown (namely, after "both the death of the current Duke of Edinburgh and the Prince of Wales' succession as King"), and for his children to be styled as the children of an Earl, rather than as Prince/ss and Royal Highness.
He and his wife Sophie have two children: Lady Louise Windsor, born 8 November 2003, and James, Viscount Severn, born 17 December 2007, and they reside at Bagshot Park in Surrey.
The Birth of Lady Louise Alice Elizabeth Mary Mountbatten-Windsor
Lady Louise was born prematurely on 8 November 2003 (at 23:32 GMT) at Frimley Park Hospital in Surrey after her mother was rushed there by ambulance from the Wessex home at Bagshot Park, Surrey; Prince Edward was not present for the birth because it came so suddenly. Lady Louise was delivered by the Royal Surgeon and Gynaecologist Marcus Setchell via emergency Caesarean section due to placental abruption, which caused severe blood loss to both child and mother. Louise was transferred to a neo-natal unit in St George's Hospital, Tooting, London, as a precaution. Meanwhile, the Countess remained at Frimley Park until she was well enough to be discharged, on 23 November 2003. Lady Louise's name was announced on 27 November. She was baptised in the Private Chapel of Windsor Castle on 24 April 2004, and her godparents were: Lady Alexandra Etherington, her third cousin once removed (from Edward VII), Lady Sarah Chatto, her first cousin once removed (from George VI), Lord Ivar Mountbatten, her second cousin once removed (from Prince Louis of Battenberg), Rupert Elliott, and Francesca Schwarzenbach.
Born with esotropia, Louise underwent a 30-minute operation under general anaesthetic in an attempt to correct the problem in January 2006. The operation was unsuccessful, and she had further treatment in late 2013 that corrected her vision. At age 9, she sustained a broken arm falling off a pony.
She is a member of the Guides division, and was previously a Brownie, of Girl Guides of which her grandmother is Patron and her mother is President. Her mother was a Brownie (and a member of the other Girl Guide age group divisions) when she was a child.
In 29 April 2011, she was one of the bridesmaids at the wedding of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge
In April 2015 Lady Louise and her brother participated in their first overseas engagement. They accompanied their parents on a trip to South Africa.
Born with esotropia, Louise underwent a 30-minute operation under general anaesthetic in an attempt to correct the problem in January 2006. The operation was unsuccessful, and she had further treatment in late 2013 that corrected her vision. At age 9, she sustained a broken arm falling off a pony.
She is a member of the Guides division, and was previously a Brownie, of Girl Guides of which her grandmother is Patron and her mother is President. Her mother was a Brownie (and a member of the other Girl Guide age group divisions) when she was a child.
In 29 April 2011, she was one of the bridesmaids at the wedding of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge
In April 2015 Lady Louise and her brother participated in their first overseas engagement. They accompanied their parents on a trip to South Africa.
Birth of James Alexander Philip Theo Mountbatten-Windsor.
Lord Severn was born by caesarean section at 16:20 UTC on 17 December 2007, at Frimley Park Hospital. Prince Edward, who was present for the birth of his second child, remarked that the birth was "a lot calmer than last time" (a reference to the emergency delivery of their first child, Lady Louise), that his wife was "doing very well," and that his son was "like most babies, rather small, very cute and very cuddly." The baby and his mother were released from hospital on 20 December, and the following day his names were announced as James Alexander Philip Theo. His sister, Lady Louise Windsor, is four years his senior. The siblings live with their parents at Bagshot Park in Surrey.
James was admitted to Great Ormond Street Hospital in London on 24 January 2008, with what Buckingham Palace called a "minor allergic reaction." He was released from the hospital within days.
James was baptised on 19 April 2008, in the Private Chapel of Windsor Castle by the Dean of Windsor, Bishop David Conner. His christening gown was a newly made replica of the gown originally used by his great-great-great-grand-aunt Victoria, the eldest daughter of Queen Victoria, in 1840. It has been worn for most royal christenings since then, and the original gown has now been preserved. Severn's godparents are Denise Poulton, Jeanye Irwin, Alastair Bruce of Crionaich, Duncan Bullivant, and Tom Hill.
In April 2015 James and his older sister Lady Louise accompanied their parents on an engagement in South Africa.
James was admitted to Great Ormond Street Hospital in London on 24 January 2008, with what Buckingham Palace called a "minor allergic reaction." He was released from the hospital within days.
James was baptised on 19 April 2008, in the Private Chapel of Windsor Castle by the Dean of Windsor, Bishop David Conner. His christening gown was a newly made replica of the gown originally used by his great-great-great-grand-aunt Victoria, the eldest daughter of Queen Victoria, in 1840. It has been worn for most royal christenings since then, and the original gown has now been preserved. Severn's godparents are Denise Poulton, Jeanye Irwin, Alastair Bruce of Crionaich, Duncan Bullivant, and Tom Hill.
In April 2015 James and his older sister Lady Louise accompanied their parents on an engagement in South Africa.