While the Windsors have been dealing with the scandals involving Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor (65) and Sarah Fergurson (66) due to their connection with Jeffrey Epstein in recent weeks, it's time for a piece of good news behind palace walls. James, the youngest son of Eduardo Mountbatten-Windsor (61) and Sophie Rhys-Jones (60), the Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh, has turned 18 on December 17.
Undoubtedly, the young man is one of the most discreet members of The Firm, the colloquial nickname given by Prince Philip, husband of Queen Elizabeth II, to the core of the Windsors. Aware of the media scrutiny the institution has faced, the Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh decided to protect the privacy of the young boy to prevent him from experiencing what his cousins, Princes William and Harry, have gone through.
The youngest grandson of Queen Elizabeth II made his first official public appearance during the Trooping the Colour in 2016 when he was 9 years old - this is the annual military ceremony to commemorate the British monarch's anniversary - and he appeared again in the 2022 edition. Shortly after, he attended his grandmother's funeral and the coronation of Charles III (77).
It was the magazine Tatler that recalled the first words spoken by Prince Edward, the youngest son of Queen Elizabeth II, after announcing the birth: "He is very adorable and very cuddly." The young man has an older sister, Lady Louise, born four weeks prematurely after their mother suffered an ectopic pregnancy that almost cost her life.
The Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh reside in the royal residence Bagshot Park with 120 rooms, in Surrey county, southwest of Windsor. It is a 17th-century red brick and stone Tudor Gothic Revival style building set on 21 hectares owned by the Crown, with the family having a long-term lease since they moved in after their wedding in 1999.
The wedding took place on June 19 at the St. George's Chapel in Windsor Castle, which, although an honorable location for the Windsors, is of lower rank compared to the ceremonies of his older siblings held at St. Paul's Cathedral and Westminster Abbey.
As expected, James, who holds the title of Viscount Severn, has received a privileged education. From 2011 to 2021, he attended the private mixed preparatory school Eagle House School near Sandhurst in Berkshire, and currently, he is studying at the private institution Radley College in Oxfordshire.
The only time James was involved in controversy was when paparazzi caught him at 11 years old driving his father's Land Rover on the grounds of Windsor Castle. However, the situation did not escalate as he was accompanied by his mother and was not breaking any laws since he was not driving on public roads.