Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex and Forfar, KG, GCVO, CD, ADC (Edward Antony Richard Louis; born 10 March 1964) is the youngest child of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, and the youngest sibling of King Charles III. Edward is 13th in line of succession to the British throne.
Born at Buckingham Palace, Edward studied at Heatherdown School and earned his A-Levels at Gordonstoun before spending a part of his gap year teaching at the Whanganui Collegiate School in New Zealand. He studied at Jesus College, Cambridge, and graduated from the University of Cambridge in 1986 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in history. After a brief stint in the Royal Marines, Edward worked as a theatre production assistant at the Really Useful Theatre Company before assisting in television production. He later formed his own company, Ardent Productions.
Edward stepped down from the company in 2002 to begin full-time duties as a working member of the royal family, and undertook engagements on behalf of Queen Elizabeth II. He holds patronage within over 70 charities and organisations, including the National Youth Theatre, the Sport and Recreation Alliance and the British Paralympic Association. His charity work focuses on the arts, athletics, and the development of the Duke of Edinburgh's Award, which centres around fitness, wellbeing and community service.
Edward was made Earl of Wessex prior to marrying Sophie Rhys-Jones in 1999. The Earl and Countess of Wessex have two children: Lady Louise Mountbatten-Windsor and James Mountbatten-Windsor, Viscount Severn. Edward was given the additional title of Earl of Forfar in 2019.
Royal Marines
Upon leaving university in 1986, Edward joined the Royal Marines, who had reportedly sponsored his tuition at Cambridge on condition of future service. He had signed on to join the Marines in September 1983. In January 1987, he dropped out of the commando course having completed one-third of the 12-month training. Media reported that Prince Philip, who was the Captain General Royal Marines, was displeased but Prince Edward later said that his father had not put undue pressure on him to change his mind. Others stated that Philip was the most sympathetic family member toward his son's decision. Buckingham Palace said that Prince Edward's decision came after "much consideration" and that he was leaving with great regret "but has concluded that he does not wish to make the service his long-term career".
Theatre and television
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. 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 four teams sponsored by him, the Princess Royal and the Duke and Duchess of York competed for charity. The programme was criticised by the media and the public, and it was later reported that the Queen was not in favour of the event, with her courtiers having advised against it. The programme raised over £1,500,000 for its selected charities.
Ardent Productions
In 1993, Edward formed the television production company Ardent Productions. 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. Andy Beckett, writing in 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 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, with the exception of one when Edward did not draw a salary. An Ardent two-man film crew later allegedly invaded the privacy of Edward's 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.[28] 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.