Earl of Wessex
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The Earl of Wessex is an Earl in the English and later British nobility. The title has been created twice:
First creation
The title of Earl of Wessex was conferred on Godwin by Canute the Great. The Earldom had previously been reserved by the king. The Earldom passed to Godwin's son, Harold II of England, who died in 1066 at the Battle of Hastings. The Earldom was not continued.
- Godwin, 1st Earl of Wessex (c.1001-1053)
- Harold Godwinson, 2nd Earl of Wessex (c.1022-1066) also created Earl of East Anglia and Earl of Hereford; created King of England in 1066
Second creation (current)
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In 1999 Queen Elizabeth's youngest son, Prince Edward, married Sophie Rhys-Jones. Younger sons of the monarch are normally given a peerage at the time of their marriage, Duke of Cambridge being the favourite. However, given the Prince's theatrical links and the Royal Family's policy of "slimming down" their size — and Edward being seventh in the order of succession to the British throne, the Earldom of Wessex was recreated, Earl being a lesser title than Duke. This was despite there being more senior titles covering the area concerned, such as Duke of Cornwall and Duke of Devonshire, and the fact that Wessex has had no legal status (i.e., as a county) for centuries. When the Earldom was created, the Palace announced that Edward, Earl of Wessex will be made Edward, Duke of Edinburgh on the death of his father Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh and his mother Queen Elizabeth, when that title merges with the Crown.
Shakespeare in Love
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The 1998 film Shakespeare in Love, featured an entirely fictional villainous Earl of Wessex played by Colin Firth. Some people have suggested, perhaps somewhat tongue-in-cheek, that the royal family got the idea to create Prince Edward Earl of Wessex from the movie.
Wessex is engaged to marry Viola de Lesseps (played by Gwyneth Paltrow). Viola poses as a male actor Thomas Kent, and falls in love with William Shakespeare (Joseph Fiennes). However, she is forced to marry Wessex by Queen Elizabeth (Judi Dench), and at the end, the Earl and Countess of Wessex move to the American Colonies.