Prince Edward, Sophie’s son James faces major royal decision as he turns 18

Prince Edward and Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh, must be beaming with delight as their only son, James, turned 18 on Wednesday, December 17.

As James reached this major milestone, an important decision regarding his future role in the royal family and his title now lies ahead.

The Earl of Wessex, the youngest grandchild of the late Queen Elizabeth II, is entitled to use the title of prince and the style His Royal Highness as the child of a monarch’s son under the 1917 Letters Patent.

Now that he has come of age, the choice of whether to adopt those titles officially rests with him as unlike some members of the royal family, James was not raised using a prince title.

The Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh made a deliberate decision to give both of their children, James and Lady Louise Windsor, the freedom to decide for themselves once they became adults.

However, James’ cousins Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie have used princess titles in accordance with the wishes of their father, the former Prince Andrew, since birth.

Lady Louise turned 18 in November 2021, but she has not publicly adopted a royal title or Her Royal Highness styling.

In an interview with The Sunday Times in 2023m Sophie explained the reason behind their decision as she said, “We try to bring them up with the understanding they are very likely to have to work for a living. Hence, we made the decision not to use HRH titles. They have them and can decide to use them from 18, but I think it’s highly unlikely.”