{"id":2202607,"date":"2025-12-17T12:03:13","date_gmt":"2025-12-17T12:03:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/?p=2202607"},"modified":"2025-12-17T12:03:13","modified_gmt":"2025-12-17T12:03:13","slug":"the-royal-rules-that-mean-an-unknown-man-could-be-hrh","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/the-royal-rules-that-mean-an-unknown-man-could-be-hrh\/","title":{"rendered":"The royal rules that mean an unknown man could be HRH"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/p>\n

\n

The youngest grandchild of Queen Elizabeth II is turning 18 and
\nas James, Earl of Wessex celebrates his coming of age, it\u2019s opened
\nup the question of whether this young royal could actually become
\nmore royal and take the title of Prince. And it turns out that his
\nmother knows best.<\/p>\n

Just a few years ago, the Duchess of Edinburgh confirmed in an
\ninterview that the option to become HRH was open to both her
\nchildren, under Letters Patent issued in 1917. And Sophie said at
\nthe time that it was a decision that both could make once they
\nturned 18. So how likely is it that the Earl of Wessex could become
\nHRH Prince James of Edinburgh?<\/p>\n

Under the Letters Patent of 1917 issued by King George V, all
\nthe grandchildren of a Monarch in the male line are allowed to use
\nHRH and Prince or Princess. It means that the children of a
\nMonarch\u2019s son can take the title. And James, and his sister Louise,
\nare both children of a Monarch\u2019s son and so the Letters Patent
\nspecify they fall into the category of people who can be known as
\nHRH and Prince or Princess.<\/p>\n

\n
\"Lady
According to their mother,
\nher children could be HRH Prince James and HRH Princess Louise of
\nEdinburgh
(i-images)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

When their parents married, in 1999, Buckingham Palace issued a
\npress release about the titles that would come to Edward and
\nSophie. It was announced that Prince Edward had been made Earl of
\nWessex and Viscount Severn on his wedding day and so after
\nmarriage, the couple would be known as the Earl and Countess of
\nWessex.<\/p>\n

It also stated that their children would not be given the style
\nof HRH but instead take the titles due to the children of an earl.
\nHowever, no fresh Letters Patent were issued and the royal rules of
\n1917 remain in place.<\/p>\n

In 2020, the now Duchess of Edinburgh revealed that despite
\nnever using them,
\nher children do in fact have royal titles<\/a>. She told Christina
\nLamb that both Louise and James could be HRH, saying of that and
\nthe style of Prince and Princess that her children \u201dhave them and
\ncan decide to use them from 18, but I think it\u2019s highly
\nunlikely.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n

\n
\"\"\"\"
The Duchess of Edinburgh
\nsaid her children can choose to be HRH when they reach 18
(i-Images\/ Pool)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

Sophie also revealed the reason why the press release of 1999
\nhad stated that her children would use the courtesy titles of an
\nearl, as she said \u201dthey are very likely to have to work for a
\nliving\u2026.hence we made the decision not to use HRH titles.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n

Buckingham Palace issued no clarification to Sophie\u2019s words and
\nso the official, royal record remains that James and Louise, as the
\n1917 Letters Patent dictate, can both use HRH if they wish.
\nHowever, their parents and grandmother decided they wouldn\u2019t but
\nthe ultimate decision rests with them and, legally, once they reach
\nadulthood then they have complete agency over their own
\nactions.<\/p>\n

Given Sophie\u2019s closeness to Queen Elizabeth II, and the late
\nQueen\u2019s deep affection for her daughter in law, it is highly
\nunlikely that the Duchess made such a statement without the backing
\nof her \u2018dear Mama\u2019. Sophie is the ultimate and original source for
\nthe statement that James and Louise are HRH, just choose not to use
\nit.<\/p>\n

It seems unlikely that either would choose to take that path.
\nWhile both appear at major royal events, such as Trooping the
\nColour, they have led quiet, private lives and go relatively under
\nthe radar. .Lady Louise was recently spotted sitting on a train
\ncarriage floor when the service she was on became overcrowded. It\u2019s
\nhardly the move of someone about to declare themselves a
\nprincess.<\/p>\n

However, the bottom line remains that the Letters Patent of
\nGeorge V, the written open statement of a Monarch\u2019s will, are the
\nover riding decider of how the descendants of those who wear the
\nCrown are known. Until fresh Letters Patent are issued, they remain
\nthe ultimate source.<\/p>\n

The press release in which it was declared that Edward and
\nSophie\u2019s children would take courtesy titles rather than HRH has
\nalready been shown to be more than flexible anyway.<\/p>\n

The same press release also stated that Queen Elizabeth II,
\nPrince Philip and their eldest son, Charles, had agreed that the
\ntitle of Duke of Edinburgh would also one day come to Prince
\nEdward. At the time, Prince Philip was Duke of Edinburgh but it
\nwasn\u2019t as simple as passing the title on to his younger son at
\ndeath.<\/p>\n

\n
\"\"\"\"
Lady Louise didn\u2019t start
\nusing HRH when she turned 18 in 2022<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

For the Dukedom of Edinburgh created for Prince Philip was
\nhereditary. And so, on his death in 2021, the title actually passed
\nto his eldest son, Charles, who was Duke of Edinburgh between April
\n9 2021 and September 8 2022. When Charles became King, all his
\nother titles merged with the Crown and the Dukedom of Edinburgh
\ncreated for Prince Philip ceased to exist.<\/p>\n

For the wish expressed in the press release to become reality,
\nKing
\nCharles<\/a> had to recreate the Dukedom of Edinburgh and give it to
\nPrince Edward which he did in March 2023 to mark his youngest
\nbrother\u2019s 59th birthday. However, he created it as a lifetime
\npeerage only, meaning it cannot be passed on by Edward to his
\nson.<\/p>\n

The press release of 1999 did not state that it would be a
\nlifetime peerage with an implicit understanding that it would be
\ncreated in the same way as other royal dukedoms when it came time
\nto pass it to Edward. However, a quarter of a century later, the
\nnew Monarch decided that this title would be for one person only. A
\npress release does not carry the same weight as the royal will
\nexpressed in Letters Patent.<\/p>\n

All that said, James is very unlikely to take up a royal title.
\nThe Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh know that their children will
\nwork for a living (Lady Louise has already done a stint in a garden
\ncentre) and Edward and Sophie have made it clear that their focus
\nis on the duties of the Royal Family rather than on titles.<\/p>\n

James, as the eldest son of a Duke, uses his father\u2019s secondary
\ntitle and so is known as the Earl of Wessex. In time, he will
\ninherit that along with another title not mentioned in the 1999
\npress release but with just as much validity. Queen Elizabeth II
\nalso made her youngest son the Earl of Forfar, to mark a birthday,
\nand so James will one day be the Earl of Wessex and the Earl of
\nForfar. For an unassuming young man who just happens to be the
\nyoungest grandchild of the longest reigning Monarch in British
\nhistory, that is more than enough to be getting on with.<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

\u2018 The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n

\u2018 Some details of this article were extracted from the following source royalcentral.co.uk \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The youngest grandchild of Queen Elizabeth II is turning 18 and as James, Earl of Wessex celebrates his coming of age, it\u2019s opened up the question of whether this young royal could actually become more royal and take the title of Prince. And it turns out that his mother knows best. Just a few years […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2202608,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":[],"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_social_meta":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[43],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2202607","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-royalty"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/The-royal-rules-that-mean-an-unknown-man-could-be.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2202607","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2202607"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2202607\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2202609,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2202607\/revisions\/2202609"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2202608"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2202607"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2202607"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2202607"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}