Catherine, Princess of Wales and James, Earl of Wessex attend the 2026 Easter Matins Service at St George’s Chapel on April 5, in Windsor, England. Photos: Getty Images
James, Earl of Wessex, was seen mingling with Kate Middleton at Windsor Castle this weekend – alongside King Charles and Prince William
The British royal family stepped out for an Easter service last weekend, and royal watchers are buzzing over the appearance of one young man in particular. James, Earl of Wessex, was spotted sharing a warm conversation with Catherine, Princess of Wales, ahead of the service at St George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle. He is the 18-year-old son of Prince Edward and Sophie, the Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh.
James was accompanied by his father, alongside King Charles, Queen Camilla, Prince William, Princess Anne and others. His mother, Sophie, was absent from the service, reportedly because she felt “under the weather”, while his sister, Lady Louise, was in Scotland, focusing on her studies at the University of St Andrews.
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The Earl of Wessex also drew attention for sporting a signet ring at the event, similar to one worn by Prince Edward and King Charles.
So, what else do we know about James?
James, Earl of Wessex’s royal relatives
Britain’s now-disgraced former prince Andrew, Princess Eugenie of York, Princess Beatrice of York, Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex, James, Louise Windsor and Sophie, Countess of Wessex, leave after attending a national service of thanksgiving for the 90th birthday of Britain’s Queen Elizabeth at St Paul’s Cathedral in London, in 2016. Photo: AFP
James Alexander Philip Theo Mountbatten-Windsor, Earl of Wessex, was born on December 17, 2007, in Surrey’s Frimley Park Hospital. He is the youngest grandchild of the late Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, and is said to have been one of her favourite grandchildren, second only to his sister, Louise.
Sophie, Countess of Wessex, and Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex, leave Frimley Park Hospital with their baby son, James, in 2007, in Surrey, England. Photo: Getty Images
He’s a nephew of King Charles, which makes him a cousin of Prince William and Prince Harry, as well as Princess Anne’s children, Peter Phillips and Zara Tindall, and former prince Andrew’s daughters, Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie. He is 16th in line to the British throne, followed by Louise, even though she is older than him, due to male-preference primogeniture being in effect when the siblings were born.
