Prince Edward, his daughter Lady Louise and his wife Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh. (Aberdeen, September 10, 2022) Getty Images:
Although she is the first child of Prince Edward and Sophie Rhys-Jones, Louise Mountbatten-Windsor did not inherit the earldom of Wessex, which recently passed to her younger brother James, 15.
The waltz of titles never ends. Prince Edward, Queen Elizabeth II’s youngest child, officially became the Duke of Edinburgh on his 59th birthday on Friday 10 March. A title held by his father Philip until his death in June 2021. Logically, his wife Sophie is now the Duchess of Edinburgh, having lost her former title of Countess of Wessex. But against all odds, their daughter (and eldest), 19-year-old Lady Louise Mountbatten-Windsor, will not be taking over the county of Wessex. This goes to his brother James, four years younger than him. Blame it on the old rule of inheritance that favors boys to the detriment of girls.
In the video, Prince Edward’s emotion when he introduces his wife as “Duchess” for the first time.
Indeed, until a few years ago the rules of succession to the British crown were based on principle “cognatic primogeniture with male preference’, established in 1701 by the ‘Act of Regulation’. Specifically, if the king had several heirs, the first male sibling was designated to succeed him on the throne; It was only by default that the crown returned to the girls. Since then, the royal family has changed this rule, which was considered archaic and sexist. The text of the Succession to the Crown Act passed by Parliament in 2013, which came into force two years later, thus established cognatic precedence. Result: there is no longer a difference between men and women. This means Princess Charlotte (7) has overtaken her younger brother Prince Louis (4) in the line of succession.
However, the change in the rule of succession does not affect the condition of Prince Edward’s children, the latter were born before the change in the law. This is why it was James Mountbatten-Windsor (born December 2007) who inherited the county of Wessex, and not his older sister Louise.
ScandalsKate and William 1/4. An incredible encounter
LISTEN TO THE PODCAST!
Lady Louise, “the secret weapon of the monarchy”.
Fifteenth in line to the throne after her brother James, Lady Louise was born on 8 November 2003 in Frimley, Surrey. Due to her premature birth, she suffered from esotropia, which was corrected in 2006 and again in 2013. As such, she is very dedicated to the blind and visually impaired, an ambassador for the International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness. The highly intelligent niece of King Charles III is pursuing specialist studies in English, history, politics and theater at the University of St Andrews in Scotland from September 2022, just like Prince William and Kate Middleton before her. According to the English press, it will be necessary to rely on Louise Mountbatten-Windsor. It is even said about him that he is “the secret weapon of the monarchy”.
Who are the young heirs to European thrones in the video?
Source: Le Figaro
