Although until recently the name James Mountbatten Windsor was not very well known, the death of Queen Elizabeth has caused people to become interested in him, since he was the youngest grandson of the monarch. Find out why he holds the title Viscount Severn and what it means.
The teenager, 14 years old, is the youngest son of Prince Edward and Sophie Countess of Wessex, although he is the son of a prince, James does not hold royal titles and is not treated as “Her Majesty”, but he does have another peculiar appointment.
What does the title Viscount Severn mean?
James Mountbatten Windsor, is known to be Viscount Severn. The young man, who was born 2007, has carried that title since birth. A viscount is a title of nobility that is assigned to a member of the royal family with a lower rank than that of earl; in this case Edward, his father, is the Earl of Wessex, as is his mother who is Countess of Wessex.
In the case of Severn, it is related to his Welsh roots. In Wales there is a river with this name, which is also the longest river in Great Britain.
Why doesn’t James have royal titles?
The mother of the Viscount of Servern has explained the reasons why she and Edward decided not to give their children royal titles at birth, as they were entitled to be grandchildren of the Queen.
“We tried to bring them up with the understanding that they were very likely to have to work for a living,” the Countess of Wessex revealed in disclosures reviewed by The Times. “We therefore made the decision not to use Her Royal Highness’s titles.”
Despite this, both James and his sister Louise can opt to use the titles when they turn 18, according to the 1917 Letters Patent issued by King George V. However, his mother told The Times that this is “very unlikely” to happen.