James Alexander Philip Theo Mountbatten-Windsor, Viscount Severn (born 17 December 2007) is the younger child of
Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex and Forfar
Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex and Forfar, (Edward Antony Richard Louis; born 10 March 1964) is a member of the British royal family. He is the youngest child of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, and the youngest sibl ...
, and
Sophie, Countess of Wessex and Forfar
Sophie, Countess of Wessex and Forfar, (born Sophie Helen Rhys-Jones, 20 January 1965) is a member of the British royal family. She is married to Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex and Forfar, the youngest brother of King Charles III.
She grew u ...
. He is the youngest grandchild of
Elizabeth II
Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until her death in 2022. She was queen regnant of 32 sovereign states during ...
and
Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh
Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh (born Prince Philip of Greece and Denmark, later Philip Mountbatten; 10 June 1921 – 9 April 2021) was the husband of Queen Elizabeth II. As such, he served as the consort of the British monarch from E ...
, and a nephew of
King Charles III
Charles III (Charles Philip Arthur George; born 14 November 1948) is King of the United Kingdom and the 14 other Commonwealth realms. He was the longest-serving heir apparent and Prince of Wales and, at age 73, became the oldest person to a ...
. He is 14th in the
line of succession to the British throne
Succession to the British throne is determined by descent, gender, legitimacy and religion. Under common law, the Crown is inherited by a sovereign's children or by a childless sovereign's nearest collateral line. The Bill of Rights 1689 a ...
.
Birth and baptism
Viscount Severn was born on 17 December 2007, at
Frimley Park Hospital
Frimley Park Hospital is a large general hospital in Frimley, Surrey. It is managed by Frimley Health NHS Foundation Trust, and houses a private wing.
History
Frimley Park Hospital was opened to provide a full range of acute services to pat ...
in
Frimley
Frimley is a town in the Borough of Surrey Heath in Surrey, England, approximately southwest of central London. The town is of Saxon origin, although it is not listed in Domesday Book of 1086.
Train services to Frimley (on the line between ...
,
Surrey.
The names James Alexander Philip Theo were announced on 21 December.
He was
baptised
Baptism (from grc-x-koine, βάπτισμα, váptisma) is a form of ritual purification—a characteristic of many religions throughout time and geography. In Christianity, it is a Christian sacrament of initiation and adoption, almost inv ...
on 19 April 2008, in the Private Chapel of
Windsor Castle
Windsor Castle is a royal residence at Windsor in the English county of Berkshire. It is strongly associated with the English and succeeding British royal family, and embodies almost a millennium of architectural history.
The original c ...
by
David Conner, the
dean of Windsor
The Dean of Windsor is the spiritual head of the canons of St George's Chapel at Windsor Castle, England. The dean chairs meetings of the Chapter of Canons as ''primus inter pares''. The post of Dean of Wolverhampton was assimilated to the dea ...
, and his godparents were
Alastair Bruce of Crionaich, Duncan Bullivant, Thomas Hill, Denise Poulton and Jeanye Irwin.
He wore a newly made replica of the
royal christening gown
A royal christening gown is an item of baptismal clothing used by a royal family at family christenings. Among those presently using such a gown are the royal families of the United Kingdom, Denmark, the Netherlands, Norway, Spain, and Sweden. ...
originally used by
Victoria
Victoria most commonly refers to:
* Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia
* Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada
* Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory
* Victoria, Seychelle ...
, the eldest child of
Queen Victoria
Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 216 days was longer than that of any previo ...
, in 1840. It has been worn for most royal christenings since then, and the original gown has now been preserved.
, Viscount Severn attended
Eagle House School, a coeducational preparatory school near
Sandhurst in Berkshire.
Official appearances
In April 2015, James and his sister,
Lady Louise, participated in their first overseas engagement by accompanying their parents on a trip to
South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the ...
. In September 2020, James participated in the Great British Beach Clean with his family at
Southsea
Southsea is a seaside resort and a geographic area of Portsmouth, Portsea Island in England. Southsea is located 1.8 miles (2.8 km) to the south of Portsmouth's inner city-centre. Southsea is not a separate town as all of Portsea Island's s ...
Beach in
Hampshire
Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in western South East England on the coast of the English Channel. Home to two major English cities on its south coast, Southampton and Portsmouth, Hampshire ...
, in support of the
Marine Conservation Society
The Marine Conservation Society is a UK based not-for-profit organization working with businesses, governments and communities to clean and protect the oceans. Founded in 1983, the group claims to be working towards "cleaner, better-protected, h ...
.
In March 2022 James attended the
memorial service for Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. In June 2022 he attended the
Platinum Jubilee National Service of Thanksgiving and the
Platinum Party at the Palace.
On 17 September 2022, during the period of
official mourning for Queen Elizabeth II, James joined his sister and six cousins to mount a 15-minute vigil around the coffin of the late Queen, as it
lay in state at
Westminster Hall
The Palace of Westminster serves as the meeting place for both the House of Commons and the House of Lords, the two houses of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Informally known as the Houses of Parliament, the Palace lies on the north bank ...
. On 19 September, he joined other family members at the state funeral.
Titles, styles, and honours
Titles and styles
James is styled as ''Viscount Severn'', a
courtesy title that is his father's
subsidiary title. The creation of this viscountcy acknowledged the Welsh roots of Sophie's family: the
River Severn
, name_etymology =
, image = SevernFromCastleCB.JPG
, image_size = 288
, image_caption = The river seen from Shrewsbury Castle
, map = RiverSevernMap.jpg
, map_size = 288
, map_c ...
rises in Wales.
Letters patent issued in 1917 assign a princely status and the style of ''
Royal Highness
Royal Highness is a style used to address or refer to some members of royal families, usually princes or princesses. Monarchs and their consorts are usually styled ''Majesty''.
When used as a direct form of address, spoken or written, it t ...
'' to all children of a monarch's sons. When his parents married,
Buckingham Palace announced that their children would be styled as the children of an earl, rather than as prince or princess. Thus, court communications refer to him as ''Viscount Severn''.
In 2020, the Countess of Wessex and Forfar stated that James and his sister
Lady Louise Windsor
Lady Louise Alice Elizabeth Mary Mountbatten-Windsor (born 8 November 2003) is the elder child of Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex and Forfar, and Sophie, Countess of Wessex and Forfar, both members of the British royal family. She is a granddau ...
retained their royal titles and styles and will make a choice on whether to use them when they each turn 18.
Honours
*
6 February 2012:
Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal
The Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal (french: Médaille du jubilé de diamant de la reine Elizabeth II) or The Queen's Diamond Jubilee Medal was a commemorative medal created in 2012 to mark the 60th anniversary of Queen Elizabeth II's ...
[Peter Phillips, Zara Tindall, The Prince of Wales, The Duke of Sussex, Princess Beatrice, Princess Eugenie, Lady Louise Windsor and James, Viscount Severn have mounted a vigil around their grandmother’s coffin at Westminster Hall](_blank)
/ref>
* 6 February 2022: Queen Elizabeth II Platinum Jubilee Medal
The Queen Elizabeth II Platinum Jubilee Medal (french: Médaille du jubilé de platine de la reine Elizabeth II) or The Queen's Platinum Jubilee Medal is a commemorative medal created to mark the 70th anniversary of Queen Elizabeth II's accessi ...
In June 2008, to recognise a visit by his father to the Canadian province of Manitoba
, image_map = Manitoba in Canada 2.svg
, map_alt = Map showing Manitoba's location in the centre of Southern Canada
, Label_map = yes
, coordinates =
, capital = Winn ...
, the Lieutenant Governor of Manitoba named a lake in the north of the province after James.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Severn, James, Viscount
2007 births
Living people
21st-century English people
English Anglicans
English people of Danish descent
English people of German descent
English people of Greek descent
English people of Russian descent
English people of Scottish descent
British courtesy viscounts
James
James, Viscount Severn
James Alexander Philip Theo Mountbatten-Windsor, Viscount Severn (born 17 December 2007) is the younger child of Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex and Forfar, and Sophie, Countess of Wessex and Forfar. He is the youngest grandchild of Elizabeth II ...
James
People educated at Eagle House School
People educated at St George's School, Windsor Castle
People from Bagshot
People from Frimley
James, Viscount Severn
James Alexander Philip Theo Mountbatten-Windsor, Viscount Severn (born 17 December 2007) is the younger child of Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex and Forfar, and Sophie, Countess of Wessex and Forfar. He is the youngest grandchild of Elizabeth II ...
James