Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex Biography

Edward Antony Richard Louis, professionally known as Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex, and Forfar is a member of the British royal family. He was made Earl of Wessex prior to marrying Sophie Rhys-Jones in 1999 whereas he was given the additional title of Earl of Forfar in 2019. He comes to light as the youngest child of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. He was accepted to Cambridge despite having far inferior grades and is the fourth of only five members of the Royal Family in history to have obtained a university degree. He is also 13th in the line of succession to the British throne. Edward has taken over the Duke’s role in the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award scheme by attending Gold Award ceremonies around the world ever since his father began to relinquish some of his duties due to old age. Moreover, he was appointed president of the Royal Windsor Horse Show in February 2022 which is a position previously held by his father the Duke of Edinburgh.

What is Prince Edward known for?

• He is a member of the British royal family. 
• He is the youngest child of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip.
• He is Patron of Paralympics GB and Vice Patron of the Commonwealth Games Federation.

What Nationality is Prince Edward?

Prince Edward was born on 10th March 1964 with the real name of Edward Antony Richard Louis in Buckingham Palace, London, England. He is British by nationality and British-white by ethnicity. Similarly, his religious belief is in the Christian religion and his race is white. Prince’s present age is 58 which he celebrated recently in 2022 and as per his birthdate, his star sign is Pisces. He is the third son and the fourth as well as youngest child of his mother, Queen Elizabeth II, and his father, Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. He also has three older siblings, Charles, Anne, and Andrew, who was a governess appointed to look after Edward and was responsible for his early education at Buckingham Palace.
Moving to Edward’s education, he joined Heatherdown School, near Ascot in Berkshire in September 1972. He obtained a C-grade in English and two D-grades in history and politics 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. Later he studied at Jesus College, Cambridge, where he read History, and his admission to Cambridge despite his A-Level results caused some controversy. Prince graduated in 1986 with a BA degree (lower second-class honors).

What does Prince Edward do for a living?

• Prince Edward started his career joining the Royal Marines, who had reportedly sponsored his tuition at Cambridge on condition of future service as he had signed on to join the Marines in September 1983. 
• But, he dropped out of the commando course having completed one-third of the 12-month training in January 1987 after which he opted for a career in entertainment.
• He then 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 Edward worked as a production assistant on musicals including “The Phantom of the Opera”, “Starlight Express”, and “Cats”.
• His first foray into television production was the program “The Grand Knockout Tournament” on 15th June 1987.
• He also formed the television production company Ardent Productions in 1993 and a documentary Edward made about his great uncle, Edward VIII (the late Duke of Windsor) in 1996, sold well worldwide.
• Subsequently, an Ardent two-man film crew later allegedly invaded the privacy of his nephew, Prince William, in September 2001, when he was studying at the University of St Andrews, which went against industry guidelines regarding the privacy of members of the royal family. William’s father (Edward’s elder brother Charles) was reportedly angered by the incident.
• Later he announced in March 2002 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. 
• In 2009, Ardent Productions was voluntarily dissolved with assets reduced to just £40.
• Furthermore, he was appointed the Earl of Wessex as Lord High Commissioner to the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland for 2014.
• In October 2017, the Earl and Countess of Wessex represented the Queen at the 50th Anniversary Celebrations of Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah’s Accession to the Throne of Brunei.
• The Earl was also presented with ‘Earl of Forfar’ tartan, which was designed by Forfar’s Strathmore Woollen Company to celebrate their new titles.
• Recently in February 2022, he was appointed president of the Royal Windsor Horse Show, a position previously held by his father the Duke of Edinburgh.
• The Earl and Countess of Wessex and Forfar toured Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, and Antigua and Barbuda to mark the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee in April 2022.
• However, their planned visit to Grenada was postponed after talks with the island’s government and governor-general, and the couple expressed their hopes to visit the country on a later date.

Awards and Achievements

• 6th February 1977: Queen Elizabeth II Silver Jubilee Medal
• 9th February 1990: New Zealand Commemorative Medal
• 6th February 2002: Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee Medal
• 11th May 2005: Honorary Member of the Saskatchewan Order of Merit (SOM)

Other Commonwealth countries

• 5th October 2017: Sultan of Brunei Golden Jubilee Medal

Military appointments

• October 1986 – January 1987: Officer Cadet, Royal Marines
• 1st August 2004 – present: Personal Aide-de-Camp to the Sovereign

Honorary military appointments

• 2002: Colonel-in-Chief of the Hastings and Prince Edward Regiment
• 2003: Colonel-in-Chief of the Saskatchewan Dragoons
• 2005: Colonel-in-Chief of the Prince Edward Island Regiment
• 2007: Honorary Deputy Commissioner of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police
• 19th August 2003: Royal Honorary Colonel of the Royal Wessex Yeomanry
• 2006: Commodore-in-Chief of the Royal Fleet Auxiliary
• 1st May 2022: London Regiment re-designated as London Guards

Civic appointments

• 2008: Liveryman Honoris Causa, Worshipful Company of Haberdashers
• 2008: Liveryman Honoris Causa, Worshipful Company of Gardeners
• 2011: Freeman of the City of London
• 2011: Member, Court of Assistants, Worshipful Company of Haberdashers
• 2014: Lord High Commissioner, General Assembly of the Church of Scotland
• 2017: Member, Court of Assistants, Worshipful Company of Fuellers
• 2019: Master, Worshipful Company of Fuellers

Academic appointments

• 2013 – present: Chancellor of the University of Bath

Honorary degrees

• 1994: Honorary Doctor of Laws, University of Victoria
• 2007: Honorary Doctor of Laws, University of Prince Edward Island
• 2013: Honorary Doctor of Laws, University of Bath

Who is Prince Edward married to?

Prince Edward is a married man. He exchanged vows with Sophie Rhys-Jones on 19th June 1999 in St George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle. Edward met Sophie 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 started their relationship soon afterward. He proposed to Sophie on a holiday with an Asprey and Garrard engagement ring worth an estimated £105,000 in the Bahamas in December 1998 and their engagement was announced on 6th January 1999. Sadly, Sophie had an ectopic pregnancy in 2001. Later, the couple was blessed with two children: Lady Louise Mountbatten-Windsor, born prematurely on 8th November 2003 due to a sudden placental abruption; and James Mountbatten-Windsor, Viscount Severn who was born on 17th December 2007. The family’s country current residence is Bagshot Park and their office and official London residence are at Buckingham Palace. Furthermore, talking about Edward’s sexual orientation, he is straight.

How much is Prince Edward’s Net Worth?

Prince Edward has a net worth of £32 million as of 2022 whereas he earns a salary of around $400,000 a year. He has the access to all the world’s luxury and comfort and basically, he has the affordability to have just about anything. He is in love with luxurious cars and houses as he possesses the sleekest and posh cars and many houses where he throws lavish parties. In addition, Edward’s major source of income is his theater and television career.

What is the Height of Prince Edward?

Prince Edward has unarguably accomplished a decent height career-wise. He stands at a tall height of 6 ft 0 in / 183 cm with a balanced body weight of 168 lb / 76 kg. He has good-looking brown hair and dark brown eyes color. Additionally, his body build type is average.