Ten facts about James, Lord Severn – Royal Central

Today marks the 13thth birthday of the Queen’s youngest grandson, James, Lord Severn. To celebrate, Royal Central looks at his life so far:

  • James Alexander Philip Theo Mountbatten-Windsor, Lord of Severn was born on 17 December 2007, at Frimley Park Hospital to Prince Edward and Sophie, Earl and Countess of Wessex.
  • Lady Louise Windsor’s younger brother is ahead of her in the line of success. If James had been born after 2011, he would have been behind his sister, as a result of the introduction of the Crown Succession Act, which officially ended the rule that male children taking precedence over women in the line of success.
  • At his baptism, he was the first royal to wear a replica of the original christening gown first worn by Victoria, Princess Royal, the eldest child of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert.
  • James is the youngest grandson of Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. Through his father, he is the grandson of King George VI, great-grandson of King George V, great-great-grandson of King Edward VII and great-great-great-grandson of Queen Victoria.
  • James currently attends Eagle House School near Sandhurst in Berkshire.
  • Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex, becomes Duke of Edinburgh following the death of his father, Prince Philip. This means that James is likely to then become Earl of Wessex as he currently uses the Viscount Severn father’s subtitle.
  • He lives with family at Bagshot Park in Surrey.
  • As the child of a monarch’s son, he deserves the style of His Royal Highness Prince James of Wessex. However, at the wedding of Prince Edward and Sophie in 1999, Buckingham Palace announced that their children would be named the children of an earl and therefore would not have titles. Sophie, Countess of Wessex, said in 2020 James retained the right to his royal title and will choose whether to use it when he is 18.
  • When he was five months old, a lake in the Manitoba region of Canada was named after him. His older sister received the same present.
  • As of December 2020, it is 12th according to the throne; however, by spring 2021, it will be pushed down to 13th when his cousin, Princess Eugenie, gives birth to her first child with her husband, Jack Brooksbank. This will not affect James ’place in the line of success when his other cousin, Zara Tindall, gives birth to herself and Mike Tindall’s third child as she is lower in the order of succession.

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