Today marks the 13th birthday of The Queen’s youngest grandson, James, Viscount Severn. To celebrate,Royal Central is taking a look at his life so far:
- James Alexander Philip Theo Mountbatten-Windsor, Viscount Severn was born on December 17, 2007, at Frimley Park Hospital to Prince Edward and Sophie, The Earl and Countess of Wessex.
- He is the younger brother of Lady Louise Windsor but is ahead of her in the line of succession. If James was born after 2011, he would have been behind his sister, due to the introduction of the Succession to the Crown Act, which officially ended the rule that male offspring takes precedence over females in the line of succession.
- When he was baptised, he was the first royal to wear the replica of the original christening gown which was first worn by Victoria, Princess Royal, the oldest child of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert.
- James is the youngest grandchild of Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. Through his father, he is the great-grandson of King George VI, the great-great grandson of King George V, the great-great-great grandson of King Edward VII and the great-great-great-great grandson of Queen Victoria.
- James currently attends Eagle House School near Sandhurst in Berkshire.
- Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex will become the Duke of Edinburgh after his father, Prince Philip’s death. This means that James will likely then become the Earl of Wessex as he is currently using his father’s subsidiary title of Viscount Severn.
- He lives with his family at Bagshot Park in Surrey.
- As he is a child of a monarch’s son, he is entitled to the style of His Royal Highness Prince James of Wessex. However, at Prince Edward and Sophie’s wedding in 1999, Buckingham Palace announced that their children would be styled as the children of an earl and thus would have no titles. Sophie, Countess of Wessex, said in 2020 that James retained the right to his royal title and will choose whether or not to use it when he turns 18.
- When he was five months old, a lake in the Canadian province of Manitoba was named after him. His elder sister was also given the same present.
- As of December 2020, he is 12th in line to the throne; however, by the spring of 2021, he will be pushed down to 13th when his cousin, Princess Eugenie, gives birth to her first child with husband, Jack Brooksbank. James’ place in the line of succession will be unaffected when his other cousin, Zara Tindall, gives birth to her and Mike Tindall’s third child as she is lower in the order of succession.
