#James Earl of Wessex

[leonisandmurex]

The Windsors + Spring

[theroyalsandi]

British Royal Family - The Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh and their son, the Earl of Wessex attends the Easter Mattins Service at Windsor Castle in Windsor, England. (Photo by Chris Jackson) | March 31, 2024

[princessanneftw]

Today would have been Her Late Majesty Queen Elizabeth’s 97th birthday.

This photograph - showing her with some of her grandchildren and great grandchildren - was taken at Balmoral last summer.

📸 The Princess

@KensingtonRoyal | 21 April 2023

[thepastisalreadywritten]

Prince Edward has paid tribute to his wife, Sophie, as his ‘absolute rock’ as he discussed his family life with Alan Titchmarsh during an appearance on Love Your Weekend.

The episode, which is set to air on March 10, the Duke of Edinburgh’s 60th birthday, will see the Prince sit down with the presenter and open up about his wife, the Duchess of Edinburgh, and their two children, Lady Louise, 20, and James, Earl of Wessex, 16.

Speaking of how much Sophie means to him, the Duke called his wife ‘critical, absolutely critical.’

He continued:

‘She's been an absolutely brilliant rock and I'm incredibly lucky that I found Sophie and that she found me. Hopefully, we've been a really brilliant partnership.

We're very lucky, we’ve got two, of what we would think are particularly brilliant children, who are forging such different paths for themselves. I think that's also equally fascinating.’

Elsewhere he spoke about the significance of Mothering Sunday and described what the celebration means for his own family.

Prince Edward said, ‘Always and it's doubly so when you've got your own children - your own family is very important.’

‘Those days were [important growing up], and these days are really important to remember some very, very special people in our lives.

There should be several times in the year when we make a special sort of effort and Mothering Sunday was very much one of those where you made a special effort just to say ‘thank you.’

So it goes on and that's the lovely thing about it. That's the lovely thing about families and that's what it should be.’

During the discussion, Prince Edward also revealed the lasting memories his grandchildren have of the late Prince Philip, including teaching his daughter Lady Louise to drive a carriage.

It's a hobby, which was a passion of the late Duke’s, and has since been adopted as one of Lady Louise’s.

He said, ‘It was entirely off her own bat. I mean, you know, just one day, ‘Can I go out with you and go sit on the boxes?’

He was like, ‘Absolutely.’

'He never was going to say no! He took her out with the team and I think it was only the second time, he was driving along and he said, ‘Do you want to have a go?’ and she didn’t have time to even answer the question, he just handed the reins across.’

Elsewhere in the discussion, Prince Edward spoke about how much it meant to him to be bestowed the title of Duke of Edinburgh. He said:

‘It was a huge privilege but also quite a lot of weight of expectation as well. I mean, there's an awful lot of legacy that came with that title and everything that my father had done. Especially when you're not inheriting it, this is a choice… that comes with all the expectations that people have.

It's just the weirdest and strangest feeling. You walk into a room and, particularly still today, there are name places on a card and I still look around going ‘Yes, but where am I sitting?’

Explaining how he would describe his father Prince Philip, The Duke called him an ‘extraordinary mind’, adding:

‘He was the Prince Albert of our age. He had an extraordinary mind. He loved design, he loved innovation, he was brilliant with all sorts of people.

Sometimes it didn't necessarily come across that way, but he was actually brilliant with people. He was always, always encouraging everybody. You sort of needed to get to know him.’

The interview comes after Sophie gave her own touching tribute to Edward during a royal engagement earlier in March.

The Duchess gave a rare, gushing tribute to her husband, calling him ‘the best of fathers and the most loving of husbands.’

Prince Edward looked deeply emotional throughout the speech, putting his hands over his face, as Sophie spoke about their love, saying, ‘I am so proud of the man he is.’

[grandmaster-anne]

6 May 2023 The Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh arriving with Lady Louise Windsor and the Earl of Wessex at the Coronation of King Charles III and Queen Camilla.

[royal-confessions]

“James is the only grandchild of the queen who is even remotely good looking AND IT'S NOT EVEN CLOSE. He's actually really handsome. The rest of them look like literal trolls. Except for maybe William who is decent looking.” - Submitted by Anonymous

[aimeedaisies]

He’s not just any uncle, he’s a cool uncle 😎

[littlemuoi]

The Edinburghs greeted King Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands at the Coronation.

[tianalaurence1]

Happy 60th birthday Prince Edward, Duke of Edinburgh 🎂🎉🎉🥳🎊💪

[lionessofwindsor]

Balcony appearance after the Coronation

May 6, 2023

[phillips-sisters]

Crop of Savannah and Isla Phillips (along with mom Autumn Kelly, Lady Louise Windsor, James Earl of Wessex, and Sophie Duchess of Edinburgh) promote tree growth for Christmas, 2019🎄

Source: The Sun

[leonisandmurex]

Savannah and...

[theroyalsandi]

The late Queen Elizabeth II surrounded by her grandchildren and great grandchildren in a new released photo to mark what would have been her 97th birthday. Taken by the Princess of Wales at Balmoral last summer | April 21, 2023

[thepastisalreadywritten]

Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis have two "perfect" role models in the shape of two unlikely royals - who are themselves "spares to the spare."

The young royals, who could be considered the "spares" to future King, Prince George, the first born child of Prince Wiliam and Catherine, Princess of Wales, should look to Prince Edward, the new Duke of Edinburgh, and his wife Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh, for how to go about their life as working royals.

Edward and Sophie have been hailed as the perfect role models for Charlotte and Louis due to their successful roles within the Royal Family.

The couple recently carried out a historic ceremony on behalf of King Charles III, marking 120 years of friendly relations between Britain and France.

Their rise to prominence has been a long time coming, according to former BBC Royal correspondent Jennie Bond.

Jennie told OK!: "They thoroughly deserve the recognition they are now getting."

She added that despite their work often being overshadowed by other royals, they have remained devoted to their causes.

As they take on more prominent roles, they are proving themselves up to the task and serving as excellent examples to their great nephews and niece.

xxx

It is a position which has notoriously come with question marks attached as the Royal struggles to carve out a life for themselves in the shadow of the crown.

Jennie added:

"They [Edward and Sophie] have always been quietly devoted to their various causes, but their work has been overshadowed by other royals.

I suppose every cloud has a silver lining... and as the King calls on them to take a more prominent role, Edward and Sophie are showing they are very much up to the task.

"They are also serving as excellent role models to their great nephews and niece - showing that you can be a 'spare' or even a 'spare to the spare' and make a real success of working as a valued member of the Royal Family."

But among the many benefits of the Prince and Princess of Wales ' preference for gentle parenting directed by what Catherine has learned from her studies of early years education, it is clear that the couple will be striving to normalise their younger children's lives with the hope that they never feel like working as royals is their only option.

"William and Catherine must be acutely aware of the problems for a royal spare," Jennie explains.

"They have already shown that they have a different and modern attitude to bringing up royal children.

I'm sure they will do everything to make Charlotte and Louis feel every bit as special, loved and valued as George.

I imagine they will encourage Louis to explore life outside the royal fold... it could be the military, but it could also be working in the charity world or whatever he finds appealing after his education is finished.

I'm sure they will encourage him to go to University, which they both enjoyed and where, of course, they found love.

"And from there they will want him to find a life that is meaningful to him as well as appropriate for the son of a future King.

They will try to ensure that he feels he is living a life of value, irrespective of his place in the line of succession.

And that will probably involve service of some kind as they have emphasised from the start that they want their children to understand that having empathy with others is not only a kindness but is rewarding as well."

Edward and Sophie have seen their popularity and recognition within the Royal Family soar over the past 13 months, since being given new titles.

The pair are increasingly front and centre at crucial events, stepping in for the King while he prioritises his health recovery.

Prince Edward is a trusted supporter of the arts sector, taking up his late father's Duke of Edinburgh Awards Scheme mantle.

Meanwhile, Sophie champions gender equality tirelessly, raising critical awareness around issues like female genital mutilation (FGM) and avoidable blindness prevention.

Away from participating in Royal duties or representational roles on behalf of the King, Edward and Sophie, along with their two children — Lady Louise Windsor and James, Earl of Wessex, 20 and 16 respectively — reside at Bagshot Park close to the Windsor Estate, whenever they're not away studying at university or school.

NOTE: Edited (xxx)

[grandmaster-anne]

9 April 2023 St George's Chapel after Easter Sunday service

[royal-confessions]

“Leaking photos and videos of royals especially the children and young adults is such strange behaviour..” - Submitted by Anonymous

“Can we just leave James and Louise alone?! Leaking photos and videos of them that are taken within their educational institutions is plain weird! They didn’t ask to be born into the royal family nor have they done anything to warrant the attacks on their appearance.” - Submitted by Anonymous