Edward Edmund Maximilian George Windsor, Lord Downpatrick (born 2 December 1988), known professionally as Eddy Downpatrick, is an English fashion designer and former financial analyst. He is the co-founder and creative director of the British fashion label FIDIR. As second-in-line to the Dukedom of Kent, he uses one of his grandfather's subsidiary titles, Baron Downpatrick, by

courtesy Courtesy (from the word ''courteis'', from the 12th century) is gentle politeness and courtly manners. In the Middle Ages in Europe, the behaviour expected of the nobility was compiled in courtesy books. History The apex of European courtly c ...

. He is the most senior person excluded from 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 ...

due to being a

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy * Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD * Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a let ...

Early life and family

Downpatrick was born on 2 December 1988 at St Mary's Hospital, London, and grew up in

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a College town, university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cam ...

. He is the eldest child of

George Windsor, Earl of St Andrews George Philip Nicholas Windsor, Earl of St Andrews (born 26 June 1962) is an English philanthropist, former diplomat and relative of the British royal family. He was a member of HM Diplomatic Service in New York and Budapest. St Andrews became ...

, son and

heir apparent An heir apparent, often shortened to heir, is a person who is first in an order of succession and cannot be displaced from inheriting by the birth of another person; a person who is first in the order of succession but can be displaced by the b ...

Prince Edward, Duke of Kent Prince Edward, Duke of Kent, (Edward George Nicholas Paul Patrick; born 9 October 1935) is a member of the British royal family. Queen Elizabeth II and Edward were first cousins through their fathers, King George VI, and Prince George, Duke ...

. Downpatrick's mother, Sylvana, Countess of St Andrews, by birth member of the Austrian Tomaselli family, is a Canadian born historian of Austro-Italian and French extraction. Diana, Princess of Wales, was Downpatrick's godmother, but

she died ''She Died'' is a Filipino comic series written by Wattpad author HaveYouSeenThisGirl and illustrated by Enjelicious. The original, unedited story was first posted on the online literary site Wattpad. The story was the first one to get its own Fil ...

before he got to know her well. Downpatrick is close to his third cousin

Princess Beatrice Princess Beatrice, Mrs Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi (Beatrice Elizabeth Mary; born 8 August 1988) is a member of the British royal family. She is the elder daughter of Prince Andrew, Duke of York, and Sarah, Duchess of York. She is a niece of Charle ...

and to his younger sisters Lady Marina and Lady Amelia Windsor, a fashion model. His great-grandmother Princess Marina, Duchess of Kent, was the British royal family's fashion icon in the

post-war era In Western usage, the phrase post-war era (or postwar era) usually refers to the time since the end of World War II. More broadly, a post-war period (or postwar period) is the interval immediately following the end of a war. A post-war period c ...

Education and career

Downpatrick was educated at

Eton College Eton College () is a public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1440 by Henry VI under the name ''Kynge's College of Our Ladye of Eton besyde Windesore'',Nevill, p. 3 ff. intended as a sister institution to King's College, ...

and matriculated at Keble College, Oxford, where he studied

Modern Languages A modern language is any human language that is currently in use. The term is used in language education to distinguish between languages which are used for day-to-day communication (such as French and German) and dead classical languages such ...

with a specialisation in French and German. At Oxford he was the president of the Bullingdon Club. He wanted to join the

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

after the university, but had not recovered from rugby injuries. Downpatrick first had the idea to launch a fashion brand while hiking in Scotland in 2009, but decided to first focus on his studies and career as a financial analyst at

JP Morgan JPMorgan Chase & Co. is an American Multinational corporation, multinational Investment banking, investment bank and financial services holding company headquartered in City of New York, New York City and Delaware General Corporation Law, inco ...

. Downpatrick left JP Morgan and began working as a fashion designer in 2016. He is a co-founder and the creative director of the fashion label FIDIR, which he launched with Justine Dalby in 2017. The brand is a collection of outdoor-wear and accessories. He designs handbags, wallets, sweatshirts, wash bags, and T-shirts. His designs are inspired by the

Scottish Highlands The Highlands ( sco, the Hielands; gd, a’ Ghàidhealtachd , 'the place of the Gaels') is a historical region of Scotland. Culturally, the Highlands and the Lowlands diverged from the Late Middle Ages into the modern period, when Lowland S ...

Succession rights

In 2003, aged 15, following the example of his grandmother the

Duchess of Kent Duchess of Kent is the principal courtesy title used by the wife of the Duke of Kent. There have been four titles referring to Kent since the 18th century. The current duchess is Katharine, the wife of Prince Edward. He inherited the dukedom ...

and his uncle

Lord Nicholas Windsor Lord Nicholas Charles Edward Jonathan Windsor (born 25 July 1970) is a relative of the British royal family, youngest child of Prince Edward, Duke of Kent. As a Catholic convert, he has forfeited his right of succession to the throne. Lord Ni ...

, Downpatrick, who was baptised in the

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britai ...

, chose to be

confirmed In Christian denominations that practice infant baptism, confirmation is seen as the sealing of the covenant created in baptism. Those being confirmed are known as confirmands. For adults, it is an affirmation of belief. It involves laying on ...

into the

Roman Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

. He was therefore barred from the

according to the Act of Settlement 1701. As a second cousin once removed 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 ...

, Downpatrick is the most senior person excluded from the line of succession for being a Roman Catholic. , he would have been 42nd in line. He remains second in the line of succession, after his father, to the Dukedom of Kent.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Downpatrick, Edward Windsor, Lord Living people 1988 births 20th-century Roman Catholics 21st-century Roman Catholics Alumni of Keble College, Oxford British courtesy barons and lords of Parliament Bullingdon Club members Converts to Roman Catholicism from Anglicanism English fashion designers English people of Austrian descent English Roman Catholics Edward JPMorgan Chase employees People educated at Eton College