James Wessex confirms future outside the Royal Family as he embraces new job that made estate worker 'double take'
Duchess Sophie's son has got himself a summer job ahead of a massive life change in the autumn - and she'll be so proud
The Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh's 18-year-old son James generally stays out of the spotlight, but Buckingham Palace have now shared a rather significant life update for him. The Earl of Wessex has "achieved the grades he needed" at A-Level and will be starting at the Royal Agricultural University in the autumn "without taking a year out".
In contrast to his sister Lady Louise, who recently graduated from St Andrews with an English Literature degree, James will be studying Rural Land & Property Management. He's already been throwing himself into rural work ahead of this big move too.
According to The Sun, the teenager has been helping out at Sandringham and an estate worker was rather surprised to see him, claiming, "Everyone is so used to only seeing James smartly turned out with his family at functions at Christmas and Easter so I had to do a double take."
"He might be the King's nephew but he is more than happy to get his hands dirty and muck in," they went on. "Driving tractors around Sandringham is not an easy task and it can mean long hours. But it doesn't matter how rich you are, learning a good work ethic at a young age can always help."
The King's Sandringham estate in Norfolk is around 20,000 acres and James Wessex is clearly eager to get some on-the-job experience of land management before starting his course.
His parents Sophie and Edward will be proud of him and they've been clear with James and Louise that they shouldn't expect to have royal careers. In an interview with The Times in 2020 the Duchess explained, "We try to educate them with the understanding that they will most likely have to work for a living. That is why we made the decision not to use HRH titles."
For years we've heard reports that King Charles and Prince William are both keen on a slimmed-down monarchy so adding two new working royals to the payroll probably isn't going to happen. Like his sister, James seems to be forging his own separate path and his degree will open up multiple career opportunities for him.
James Wessex will probably still make certain royal appearances going forwards, though they will be limited and likely just family occasions. The Earl of Wessex is 17th in the royal line of succession and was last seen with Prince Edward at the Easter Sunday service at Windsor.
He's the youngest of that royal generation by a long way, with the eldest cousin, Peter Phillips, being 30 years his senior. The age difference makes James's involvement in their vigil for Queen Elizabeth in 2022 all the more moving. Last year the Duchess of Edinburgh said part of her was initially unsure about it because he was 14 then, "but he was really keen to do it."
"I was slightly holding my breath, wanting them to feel that they'd done it well more than anything else. I wasn't worried about anything happening; it was more that I wanted them to feel that they'd done their bit for their grandmother. It was incredibly moving, and lovely to see her surrounded by them," she said.
