The Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex (Edward Antony Richard Louis; born 10 March 1964) is a member of the British Royal Family, the youngest child and third son of Queen Elizabeth II. He has held the title of Earl of Wessex since 1999. The Earl of Wessex is currently seventh in the line of succession.

Early life
Prince Edward, like other royal children at that time, was educated by a private governess until the age of seven. Afterwards he attended Gibbs School, in Kensington, West London. In 1972, he went to Heatherdown Preparatory School near Ascot in Berkshire. Following in the footsteps of his father and brothers, he attended Gordonstoun School in Scotland and was appointed head boy in his last term.
Like his brother, Prince Andrew, Prince Edward spent a "gap year" abroad, spending two terms at the Collegiate School, Wanganui, New Zealand, as a house tutor/junior master during September 1982.
Returning to England, Prince Edward enrolled at Jesus College, University of Cambridge, reading history. He graduated with a 2:2 Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree in 1986. Subsequently, he was awarded an MA (Cantab.) in 1991.
This makes Prince Edward the fourth of only five members of the Royal Family in history to have obtained a university degree:

Prince William of Gloucester (first cousin of The Queen through their grandfather, George V);
Prince Richard, Duke of Gloucester (first cousin of The Queen through their grandfather, George V);
Charles, Prince of Wales (first child of The Queen);
Prince Edward; and
Prince William of Wales (Prince Charles' first child and Prince Edward's own nephew).
HRH The Prince of Wales HRH The Duchess of Cornwall

• HRH Prince William of Wales
  HRH Prince Henry of Wales
  HRH The Duke of York
  
  
  
  • HRH Princess Beatrice of York
    HRH Princess Eugenie of York
    HRH The Earl of Wessex HRH The Countess of Wessex
    
    
    
    • Lady Louise Windsor
      HRH The Princess Royal
      HRH The Duke of Gloucester HRH The Duchess of Gloucester
      HRH The Duke of Kent HRH The Duchess of Kent
      HRH Prince Michael of Kent HRH Princess Michael of Kent
      HRH Princess Alexandra Education
      On leaving university, Prince Edward joined the Royal Marines to train as an officer. But the Marines proved to be too demanding for the Prince, and he resigned his commission in January 1987, before graduation. After leaving the Marines, Prince Edward became more involved in theatre, an activity he had enjoyed extensively at school and university. In the late 1980s, he worked for two theatrical production companies, including Andrew Lloyd Webber's Really Useful Theatre Company. During his time at Lloyd Webber's company, he worked on such plays as Phantom of the Opera, Starlight Express, and Cats, and dated actress Ruthie Henshall for two years.
      Prince Edward's first foray into the world of television production was, It's a Royal Knockout television programme in June 1987, in which teams sponsored by himself and other members of the Royal family competed for charity. In 1993, Prince Edward formed the Ardent Television production company, under the name Edward Windsor. Ardent was heavily involved in the production of documentaries and dramas, particularly on the royal families of Europe. With extensive access to the Royal Archives at Windsor Castle, Prince Edward had plenty of material for his work. However, he was accused in the media of using his royal connections for personal and business gain, particularly given the financial problems of Ardent since its founding (it reported losses in all years of existence except one). In 2002, the Prince announced that he would step down as director of production and joint managing director of Ardent to concentrate on his public duties and to support the Queen during her Golden Jubilee year.
      During his television career, the prince used the names Edward Windsor and, later, Edward Wessex, leading The Guardian, for one, to refer to him as "the Edward formerly known as Prince".
      
      Estonia
      On 6 January 1999 the Prince announced his engagement to Sophie Rhys-Jones, a public relations manager with her own firm. Their wedding took place on 19 June 1999 at St. George's Chapel, Windsor. This was a break with the recent tradition of holding large formal royal weddings at Westminster Abbey. The marriage quieted, but did not entirely eliminate, rumours that the Prince was homosexual.. It is not known how this agreement will be affected by the Earl's future creation as Duke of Edinburgh (unlike the younger sons of earls, the younger sons of dukes are usually styled Lord).
      The Earl and Countess of Wessex have one child: Lady Louise Windsor (born 8 November 2003) and reside at Bagshot Park in Surrey, once the home of the Duke of Connaught's family.
      On 2 July 2007, Buckingham Palace announced that The Countess of Wessex is expecting another baby, due in December 2007. If the child is a son, he will be styled Viscount Severn from birth, and, eventually, in line for the dukedom of Edinburgh, at which point he may be styled Earl of Wessex.
      
      Marriage
      The Earl and Countess of Wessex carry out a full schedule of royal duties on behalf of the Queen, receiving civil list monies from the Queen of £141,000 per annum.
      The Earl has, in recent years, succeeded to many of the roles of his father, the Duke of Edinburgh, who is reducing some of his roles due to age. The Earl replaced him as President of the Commonwealth Games Federation (since 2006 its Vice-Patron) and opened the 1998 Commonwealth Games in Malaysia. He has also taken over the Duke's role in the Duke of Edinburgh's Award scheme (which is very fitting given the understanding that he will become the Duke of Edinburgh upon his father's death).
      As part of the celebrations of the 50th anniversary of the Duke of Edinburgh Award scheme the prince visited Richard Huish College in Taunton, Somerset. There he met with several representatives and participants of the scheme.
      His other appointments reflect his interests in sport and the arts.
      
      Royal duties
      
      Titles, styles, honours and arms
      
      10 March 1964-19 June 1999: His Royal Highness The Prince Edward
      19 June 1999-: His Royal Highness The Earl of Wessex Titles
      The Prince's style in full: His Royal Highness The Prince Edward Antony Richard Louis, Earl of Wessex, Viscount Severn, Knight Companion of the Most Noble Order of the Garter, Knight Commander of the Royal Victorian Order, Honorary Member of the Saskatchewan Order of Merit, Aide-de-Camp to Her Majesty
      
      Styles
      British Honours
      Commonwealth Realms Honours
      
      KG: Knight of the Garter, 23 April 2006
      CVO: Commander of the Royal Victorian Order, 10 March 1989
      
      
      
      • KCVO: Knight Commander of the Royal Victorian Order, 2 June 2003
        ADC(P): Personal Aide-de-Camp to the Queen, 1 August 2004
        Queen Elizabeth II Silver Jubilee Medal, 10 March 1977
        Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee Medal, 2 June 2002
        Honorary Member, Saskatchewan Order of Merit, 11 May 2005
        Commemorative Medal for the Centennial of Saskatchewan, 7 June 2005
        New Zealand Commemorative Medal (150th anniversary of Treaty of Waitangi), 1990 Honours
        
        2Lt, October 1986-January 1987: Second-Lieutenant, Royal Marines Military
        British
        Commonwealth Realms
        
        Royal Honorary Colonel, of the Royal Wessex Yeomanry
        Royal Colonel, of the 2nd Battalion, The Rifles
        Commodore-in-Chief, of the Royal Fleet Auxiliary
        Colonel-in-Chief, of The Hastings and Prince Edward Regiment
        Colonel-in-Chief, of the Saskatchewan Dragoons Honorary military appointments
        The Earl's personalized coat of arms are those of the Royal coat of arms of the United Kingdom with a label for difference: Quarterly (by quarters):
        1st and 4th, Gules three Lions passant guardant in pale Or (England). (The first and fourth quarters display the three lions, representing England).
        2nd quarter is of a lion rampant within a Double Tressure floury counterflory Gules (Scotland). (The second quarter, displays a red lion in a yellow field with a double border coloured red, this represents Scotland).
        3rd, Azure a Harp Or stringed Argent (Ireland). (The third quarter shows a harp against a blue background, this represents Ireland).
        The whole differenced by a Label of three points Argent the central point charged with a Tudor rose.
        
        Ancestry
        
        List of British princes