Royal Family appear to confirm Queen Elizabeth's grandchild won’t be taking royal title

Buckingham Palace officials have seemingly confirmed that one of the late Queen's grandchildren will be spared from receiving official 'HRH' titles, following in the footsteps of a select few others.

Though he's entitled to a princely title - being the son of one of Queen Elizabeth II's four children - James, Earl of Wessex, will reportedly be known as just that when he enrols at university in September.

The 18-year-old is the son of Prince Edward and Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh. While Edward was the youngest son of the Queen and her husband, Prince Phillip, James is the youngest of the late monarch's eight grandchildren.

(As a reminder, the other seven are Prince William, Prince Harry, Princess Beatrice, Princess Eugenie, Zara Tindall, Peter Phillips and James' big sister, Lady Louise Windsor).

The Palace seemed to imply James wouldn't go by HRH titles (Max Mumby/Indigo/Getty Images)

A statement released by the Royal Family this week confirmed that the teenager - who received his A-Level results this week - would attend the Royal Agricultural University in Cirencester, Gloucestershire next month. There he'll study Rural Land & Property Management.

His lecturers won't refer to him as 'His Royal Highness', however. Instead, it looks as though he'll simply go by 'James'.

"The Earl of Wessex will be going to the Royal Agricultural University to study Rural Land & Property Management," the Palace's announcement read. "He will head straight there without taking a year out."

While the message didn't touch on the speculation specifically, the fact that James wasn't referred to as HRH seems to indicate he'll be known to the public as the Earl of Wessex, and to his friends by his first name, rather than 'Prince James'.

Both he and Lady Louise were raised with the option of choosing whether to use their HRH styles once they reached adulthood.

The couple previously hinted at wanting their children to build lives outside of being royal (Max Mumby/Indigo/Getty Images)

The fact that Prince Edward and Duchess Sophie previously indicated that they expect their kids to pursue lives and careers outside of the monarchy seemed to hint at their preference.

"We try to bring them up with the understanding they are very likely to have to work for a living," Sophie, 61, told The Sunday Times in 2020. "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."

And that's exactly how things appear to have played out.

Louise, 22, continued to use the name Louise Mountbatten-Windsor rather than adopting a princess title when she turned 18, and used this name during her graduation from the University of St Andrews earlier this year.

Louise goes by 'Lady Louise Mountbatten-Windsor' (PA)

There is a long history of royal parents taking different approaches to titles for their children, however.

Unsurprisingly, King Charles III and Princess Diana gave sons William and Harry the styles of 'Prince' and 'His Royal Highness' from birth, fitting with their position as the sons of the heir to the throne.

Similarly, Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson's daughters Beatrice and Eugenie were styled 'Princesses' and 'HRHs' from birth.

Princess Anne, however, took a different approach with her own children.

Peter Phillips and Zara Tindall (nee, Phillips) were not given HRH styles - nor were they ever referred to as a 'Prince' or 'Princess'.

Their father, Captain Mark Phillips, was not a royal, and Anne and Mark chose not to have titles conferred on their children.

Peter and Zara have consequently lived much more private lives than their royal cousins, despite remaining members of the wider Royal Family.

Zara and Peter Phillips weren't given HRH titles (Max Mumby/Indigo/Getty Images)

The Royal Family's own website lists Peter as 'Mr Peter Phillips' and Zara as 'Mrs Michael Tindall' (referring to her husband, ex-rugby star Mike Tindall's name), reflecting the distinction.

Zara, 45, previously branded herself and her brother 'very lucky' not to have received royal titles.

She told The Times in 2015: "My parents didn't give us titles, so we've been able to have a slightly more normal upbringing.

"As soon as you've got a title, it's very difficult to shed it. People already have a perception of you before they've even met you."

She added: "My brother and I have been very lucky like that, being able to find our own way in life really and just get on with it."

The British Royal Family line of Succession

SOVEREIGN

1. The Prince of Wales (Prince William)
2. Prince George of Wales
3. Princess Charlotte of Wales
4. Prince Louis of Wales
5. The Duke of Sussex (Prince Harry)
6. Prince Archie of Sussex
7. Princess Lilibet of Sussex
8. Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor
9. Princess Beatrice
10. Miss Sienna Mapelli Mozzi
11. Miss Athena Mapelli Mozzi
12. Princess Eugenie
13. Master August Brooksbank
14. Master Ernest Brooksbank
15. 'Baby girl Brooksbank'
16. Princess Eugenie's newborn
17. The Duke of Edinburgh (Prince Edward)
18. James, Earl of Wessex
19. Lady Louise Mountbatten-Windsor
20. The Princess Royal (Princess Anne)
21. Mr Peter Phillips
22. Miss Savannah Phillips
23. Miss Isla Phillips
24. Mrs Michael Tindall (Zara Tindall)
25. Miss Mia Tindall
26. Miss Lena Tindall
27. Master Lucas Tindall