James, Viscount Severn

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James
Viscount Severn
Full name
James Alexander Philip Theo Mountbatten-Windsor[1]
House House of Windsor
Father Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex
Mother Sophie, Countess of Wessex
Born (2007-12-17) 17 December 2007 (age 5)
Frimley Park Hospital, Surrey, England
Religion Church of England
The Royal Family of the
United Kingdom and the
other Commonwealth realms
Badge of the House of Windsor.svg

HM The Queen
HRH The Duke of Edinburgh

James, Viscount Severn[2][3] (James Alexander Philip Theo Mountbatten-Windsor; born 17 December 2007) is the second child and only son of Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex, and Sophie, Countess of Wessex, and the youngest grandchild of Elizabeth II and the Duke of Edinburgh. Viscount Severn is eighth in the line of succession to the thrones of the 16 Commonwealth realms.

Contents

Early life [edit]

Severn was born by caesarean section at 16:20 UTC on 17 December 2007 at Frimley Park Hospital.[4] Prince Edward, who was present for the birth of his second child, remarked that the birth was "a lot calmer than last time" (a reference to the emergency delivery of their first child, Lady Louise), that his wife was "doing very well," and that his son was "like most babies, rather small, very cute and very cuddly."[4] The baby and his mother were released from hospital on 20 December, and the following day his names were announced as James Alexander Philip Theo.[5] His sister, Lady Louise Mountbatten-Windsor, is four years his senior. The siblings live with their parents at Bagshot Park in Surrey.

Viscount Severn was admitted to Great Ormond Street Hospital in London on 24 January 2008 with what Buckingham Palace called a "minor allergic reaction."[6] He was released from hospital within days.

Viscount Severn was christened on 19 April 2008 in the private chapel of Windsor Castle by the Dean of Windsor, Bishop David Conner.[7][8] His christening gown was a newly made replica of the gown originally used by his great-great-great-grandaunt Victoria, the eldest daughter of Queen Victoria, in 1840. It has been worn for most royal christenings since then, and the old gown has now been preserved.[7] Severn's godparents are Denise Poulton, Jeanye Irwin, Alastair Bruce, Duncan Bullivant and Tom Hill.[8]

Titles, styles, honours and arms [edit]

Titles and styles [edit]

  • 17 December 2007 – present: Viscount Severn

Letters patent issued in 1917 (and still remaining in force today) assign a princely status and the style of Royal Highness to all male-line grandchildren of a monarch. Therefore, all else being equal, James would have been styled as His Royal Highness Prince James of Wessex.[9] However, when his parents married, the Queen, via a Buckingham Palace press release, announced that (in hopes of avoiding some of the burdens associated with royal titles) their children would be styled as the children of an earl, rather than as princes or princesses. The eldest son of an earl is customarily accorded one of his father's subsidiary titles by courtesy, thus James is named as Viscount Severn, and court communications never refer to him as a prince of the United Kingdom, but simply as Viscount Severn.[10] There are two opposing opinions as to whether or not James is legally a prince and has the title "His Royal Highness": some experts consider the Queen's press release to not have enough legal force to override the 1917 letters patent, whereas other experts contend that the Queen's will, however expressed, is law in matters of royal titles and styles.[11][12] If the latter is the case, then the 1960 letters patent are also applicable and James bears (but is not styled with) the surname Mountbatten-Windsor.[1]

Honours [edit]

In June 2008, to recognise a visit by his father to the Canadian province of Manitoba, the Lieutenant Governor of Manitoba-in-Council named a lake in the north of the province after Viscount Severn.[13]

Ancestry [edit]

His mother descends from Nicholas St. John of Lydiard Tregoze (descendant of King Edward III of England) and his wife, Elizabeth (née Blount, a relative of royal mistress Elizabeth Blount) making his parents 11th cousins, once removed. Viscount Severn's mother is a direct descendant of King Edward III of England,[14] King Henry IV of England,[15] and King Henry II of France. James is also related to the family of the Viscounts Molesworth by his mother's descent from Robert Molesworth, 1st Viscount Molesworth.[16] His mother also descended from the Welsh prince and warrior Elystan Glodrydd.

Notes and sources [edit]

  1. ^ a b 1960 Letters Patent – website Heraldica.org
  2. ^ "The Countess of Wessex – Marriage and family". The official website of the British Monarchy. 2008/2009. Retrieved 4 April 2011. 
  3. ^ "Special Report , 1999 , 06/99 , royal wedding , Wessex titles for Edward and Sophie". BBC News. 19 June 1999. Retrieved 30 October 2010. 
  4. ^ a b "Countess gives birth to baby boy". BBC. 17 December 2007. 
  5. ^ "Edward and Sophie name baby James". BBC. 21 December 2007. 
  6. ^ "Royal baby has allergic reaction". BBC. 25 January 2008. 
  7. ^ a b "Announcement of the Arrangement for the Christening of Viscount Severn". royal.gov.uk. 15 April 2008. 
  8. ^ a b "Queen sees grandson's christening". BBC News. 19 April 2008. 
  9. ^ Royal Styles and Titles – 1917 Letters Patent
  10. ^ Statement issued by the Press Secretary to the Queen: Announcement of the christening of Lady Louise Windsor – The official website of The British Monarchy
  11. ^ Heraldica – The children of the Earl of Wessex
  12. ^ UK Royal Titles – The Wessex question
  13. ^ "Prince Edward begins Winnipeg visit". The Vancouver Sun (Canada). 2 June 2008. Retrieved 30 March 2010. 
  14. ^ Sophie of Wessex descends from Edward III of England through several lines. Sir Nicholas St. John's paternal grandmother, Jane Iwardby, descended from Edward The Royal Lineage; Sir Lachlan Maclean, 1st Baronet who descends from Edward and Scottish royalty and nobility.
  15. ^ Charles Mosley, editor. Burke's Peerage, Baronetage & Knightage, 107th edition, 3 volumes (Wilmington, Delaware, U.S.A.: Burke's Peerage (Genealogical Books) Ltd, 2003), volume 2, page 2720.
  16. ^ Burke's Peerage, Baronetage & Knightage, 107th edition, volume 2, page 2731.
James, Viscount Severn
Born: 17 December 2007
Lines of succession
Preceded by
The Earl of Wessex		 Line of succession to the British throne
8th position		 Succeeded by
Lady Louise Windsor
Orders of precedence in the United Kingdom
Preceded by
Prince Henry of Wales		 Gentlemen
Viscount Severn		 Succeeded by
Peter Phillips
England and Wales
Scotland
Northern Ireland
not including short-term appointments, visiting dignitaries and most peers
The generations indicate descent from George I, who formalised the use of the titles prince and princess for members of the British Royal Family.
1st generation
2nd generation
3rd generation
4th generation
5th generation
6th generation
7th generation
8th generation
9th generation
10th generation
11th generation
1 Not a British prince by birth, but created Prince Consort. 2 Not a British prince by birth, but created a Prince of the United Kingdom.
*Current courtesy viscounts, listed by precedence, from highest to lowest


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