Prince Edward Earl of Wessex is the youngest child of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, and the youngest sibling of King Charles III.
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32 Facts About Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex
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Prince Edward Earl of Wessex 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 the Queen.
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Prince Edward Earl of Wessex holds patronage within over 70 charities and organisations, including the National Youth Theatre, the Sport and Recreation Alliance and the British Paralympic Association.
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Prince Edward Earl of Wessex was baptised on 2 May 1964 in the private chapel at Windsor Castle.
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Prince Edward Earl of Wessex obtained a C-grade in English and two D-grades in history and politics at A-level, and after leaving school spent a gap year abroad, working as a house tutor and junior master for two terms at the Wanganui Collegiate School in New Zealand.
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Prince Edward Earl of Wessex had signed on to join the Marines in September 1983.
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Prince Edward Earl of Wessex 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.
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In 1993, Prince Edward Earl of Wessex formed the television production company Ardent Productions.
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Ardent was involved in the production of a number of documentaries and dramas, but Prince Edward Earl of Wessex 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.
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Ardent's productions were better received in the United States and a documentary Prince Edward Earl of Wessex made about his great uncle, Prince Edward Earl of Wessex VIII in 1996, sold well worldwide.
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In March 2002, Prince Edward Earl of Wessex 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.
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Prince Edward Earl of Wessex met Sophie Rhys-Jones for the first time in 1987 when he was dating her friend.
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In December 1993 and amid growing speculation about whether they were planning to marry, Prince Edward Earl of Wessex wrote a letter to newspaper editors, in which he denied any wedding plans and asked the media to respect their privacy.
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Prince Edward Earl of Wessex proposed to Sophie at a holiday in the Bahamas in December 1998 and their engagement was announced on 6 January 1999.
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Prince Edward Earl of Wessex proposed to Sophie with an Asprey and Garrard engagement ring worth an estimated £105,000: a two-carat oval diamond flanked by two heart-shaped gemstones set in 18-carat white gold.
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On his wedding day, Prince Edward was created Earl of Wessex, with the subsidiary title of Viscount Severn, breaking from a tradition whereby sons of the sovereign were created royal dukes.
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Prince Edward Earl of Wessex and Sophie have two children: Lady Louise Mountbatten-Windsor, born prematurely on 8 November 2003 due to a sudden placental abruption; and James Mountbatten-Windsor, Viscount Severn, born on 17 December 2007.
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Earl and Countess of Wessex established their foundation, the Wessex Youth Trust, in 1999, with a focus on helping, supporting and advancing registered charities which provide opportunities specifically for children and young people.
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Prince Edward Earl of Wessex's patronages include: the British Paralympic Association, the International Real Tennis Professionals Association, the Commonwealth Games Federation, BadmintonScotland, the Tennis and Rackets Association, City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra and Chorus, London Mozart Players, Haddo House Choral and Operatic Society, Northern Ballet, the Edinburgh International Festival, the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire, and the Production Guild.
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Prince Edward succeeded the Duke as president of the Commonwealth Games Federation and opened the 1990 Commonwealth Games in New Zealand and the 1998 Commonwealth Games in Malaysia.
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Prince Edward Earl of Wessex has taken over the duke's role in the Duke of Edinburgh's Award Scheme, attending Gold Award ceremonies around the world.
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In September 2007, the Prince Edward Earl of Wessex visited Israel in his capacity as chair of the International Council of the Duke of Edinburgh's Award to attend a number of events organised by the Israel Youth Award program, an affiliate of the Duke of Edinburgh's Award which was founded by his father to recognise adolescents and young adults for completing a series of self-improvement exercises.
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Prince Edward Earl of Wessex was himself a recipient of the award's gold medal in 1986 for "a 60-mile, four-day trek from Blair Atholl to Tomintoul" that he had planned.
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Prince Edward Earl of Wessex later went on to become the chair of the Duke of Edinburgh's International Award, and has promoted its work on different occasions.
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Prince Edward Earl of Wessex is a trustee of the International Award Association, which "encompasses the DofE UK and all its other 61 National Award Authorities across the globe".
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Prince Edward Earl of Wessex was chair of its international council and in 1999 founded the International Special Projects Group "to provide a capital fund to broaden the reach of the Award".
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In June 2011, Prince Edward Earl of Wessex visited Baltimore to meet the students and staff of the Living Classrooms Foundation and encourage them to participate in the Duke of Edinburgh's Award's programme.
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In 2015, for his contributions to projects associated with badminton, Prince Edward Earl of Wessex was awarded the President's Medal by the Badminton World Federation President Poul-Erik Høyer.
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In September 2016, Prince Edward Earl of Wessex travelled to Chile as a part of the Duke of Edinburgh's Award's diamond anniversary, and visited projects by British and Commonwealth Fire and Rescue Company and Chilean-British Culture University, of which he is an honorary member and patron respectively.
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The Earl was presented with 'Earl of Forfar' tartan, which was designed by Forfar's Strathmore Woollen Company to celebrate their new titles.
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In February 2022, Prince Edward Earl of Wessex was appointed president of the Royal Windsor Horse Show, a position previously held by his father the Duke of Edinburgh.
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