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Sophie, Countess of Wessex, 55, and Prince Edward, 56, have two children – Lady Louise Windsor, 16, and James, Viscount Severn, 12. Unlike their royal cousins, Sophie and Edward’s children are known by rather unusual titles which one constitutional expert has pointed out are technically incorrect.

Prince Edward is Queen Elizabeth II’s youngest son and was born with an HRH style.

Sophie took on an HRH style when she was made a countess by the Queen on her wedding day to Edward.

While usually the presiding sovereign’s grandchildren are known as prince or princesses Lady Louise and James, Viscount are both styled after their parents’ Earl and Countess titles.

Their Lady and Viscount titles come from Prince Edwards earldom of Wessex peerage as opposed to the royal style he received at birth.

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Both James and Louise have HRH styles but their parents chose not to give them to them at birth, allowing them to choose whether they want to use them when they turn 18 instead.

Discussing the flexible nature of the British constitution, an expert flagged the unusual nature of Louise and James’s titles.

Constitutional expert Iain MacMarthanne told Express.co.uk: “In its extreme form nothing within the British constitution is binding.

“Royal Warrants can be issued at any time to address any matter either arising or one requiring rectification or clarification. Nothing is set in stone.”

“This is the nature of the elasticity of our constitution, it moves to accommodate as and when required.

“A present example being the children of Prince Edward, both styled as the children of a peer, when in fact they are by the 1917 Warrant HRH’s. Expediency will always win out.”

Sophie touched on her children’s upbringing in a recent interview with Times journalist Christina Lamb.

Asked if they had a normal life, the Countess said: “What’s normal? They go to a regular school [they both attend top independent schools].”

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She added: “They go to friends for sleepovers and parties.

“At weekends we do lots of dog walking and stay with friends.

“I guess not everyone’s grandparents live in a castle, but where you are going is not the important part, or who they are.

“When they are with the Queen, she is their grandmother.”

Sophie said she and Edward wanted to raise their children to know they are expected to work for a living.

She said it would be up to them whether they use their HRH styles when they turn 18.

The Countess 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.”

Mr MacMarthanne also cited Edward VIII’s wife Wallace Simpson, who was never an HRH and Camilla Duchess of Cornwall as example’s of when the constitution has been bent in relation to royal titles.

He said: “Consider the case of the Duchess of Windsor, or the Duchess of Cornwall, by law the former should have been an HRH and the latter the Princess of Wales, but neither were what they should have been.”

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