Prince Earlof Wessex Edward

British royalty, the third son and fourth child of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip; at birth he was third in line for the throne. The least publicly known of the royal children, at 15 he was shy and introspective, not bolstered by approval from his dads approval. At 18 he entered a New Zealand college for a two-year stint after which he followed the family military tradition by entering the Royal Marines. He resigned from the Marines after 14 weeks in 1987 to pursue a career in theater production in spite of his dads explosive objection. A string of girl friends played counter to vague rumors that he was gay. He began a serious relationship with Sophie Rhys-Jones, 28, in August 1993. Though she kept her own apartment, she began to spend much of the week with Edward in his suite at Buckingham Palace. On 6 January 1999, they announced their engagement. The early-evening ceremonies, on 19 June 1999, attended by just 550 family members and close friends, was held well away from Londons great cathedrals and with no official representation from foreign countries. The entire British royal family was in attendance, excluding noted ex-wives and longtime loves. After the ceremony, the newlyweds took a jubilant ride in an open carriage throughout the historic heart of Windsor, past cheering crowds, some of whom had camped overnight to secure their prime spots. On 6 December 2001, his wife Sophie miscarried a two-month entopic pregnancy. Public pressure finally became too much to withstand in keeping their own jobs, so Edward announced in a speech on 2 March 2002 that they would both give up their business life in order to attend to royal duties. Prince Edward and his wife, Sophie, the Countess of Wessex (formerly Sophie Rhys-Jones), had a baby girl by emergency Caesarian section. The baby was delivered at 11:32 PM on 8 November 2003 in Frimley Park Hospital in Surrey. Eighth in line to the throne and Queen Elizabeth’s seventh grandchild, the baby was several weeks premature and weighed in at 4 lbs 9 oz. She was transferred to St. George’s hospital in Tooting, South London as a precaution. Edward was on a state tour of duty in Mauritius when the baby was born, and flew home immediately. The baby was given the name of Louise Alice Elizabeth Mary Mountbatten-Windsor and she is known as Lady Louise Windsor. On the morning of 9 April 2021 Edwards father, Prince Philip, died peacefully at Windsor Castle at age 99. On the afternoon of 8 September 2022, his mother, Queen Elizabeth II, died at age 96 in Balmoral Castle in Scotland. Link to Wikipedia biography Read less