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The Queen’s youngest son Prince Edward, 56, is currently 11th in line to the British throne. Edward, who holds the title of Earl of Wessex, has two children with Sophie, Countess of Wessex; Lady Louise Windsor, 16, and James, Viscount Severn, 12. His daughter is 13th in line, while James currently sits in 12th place.

However, the Wessexes are due to drop in the line of succession early next year.

On Friday, September 25, Princess Eugenie, 30, announced she was expecting her first child with husband Jack Brooksbank, 34.

The Princess posted a photo of two tiny, furry slippers on her Instagram, writing: “Jack and I are so excited for early 2021.”

A post from Buckingham Palace’s account on Twitter confirmed the news and added the Queen and Prince Philip are “delighted”.

As the daughter of Edward’s older brother, Prince Andrew, Eugenie is currently 10th in line to the throne.

And as has happened multiple times before, Prince Edward’s place in the line of succession will drop when someone in a higher position has a child.

This means that when Eugenie’s child is born, Edward will be 12th in line.

His children James and Lady Louise will drop to 13th and 14th place respectively.

Prince Edward is the youngest of four children and the third son of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip.

When he was born, he was third in line of succession to the British throne.

The line of succession to the British throne is the order in which members of the Royal Family would come to the throne if the reigning King or Queen died.

Earlier, males used to come before females in the line of succession.

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However, the law changed on March 26, 2015, so at present, the succession is decided only by age: older children come before younger children.

In addition, when someone who is in line to the throne has a child, that child comes after them and their older children, but before anyone else in the line of succession.

This is why Prince Edward’s place in the line of succession has dropped multiple times over the years.

Prince William, who is the son of heir to the throne and Edward’s older brother, Prince Charles, have had three children with wife Kate, Duchess of Cambridge.

When Prince George, seven, Princess Charlotte, five, and Prince Louis, two, were born, Edward, along with other lower-ranking members of the Royal Family, dropped down in the line of succession.

The same happened when William’s younger brother, Prince Harry, had his son Archie Harrison with wife Meghan Markle in May 2019.

Princess Eugenie also caused Edward to drop in the line when she was born.

Eugenie’s child, who’s gender has not been revealed, will not hold a title or receive a HRH (His or Her Royal Highness) status unless the Queen intervenes.

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