Edward Windsor, Lord Downpatrick
Edward Edmund Maximilian George Windsor, Lord Downpatrick (born 2 December 1988), known professionally as Eddy Downpatrick, is an English fashion designer, former financial analyst, and member of the British royal family. He is the grandson of Prince Edward, Duke of Kent and a great-great-grandson of George V and Mary of Teck.
As second-in-line to the Dukedom of Kent, he uses one of his grandfather’s subsidiary titles, Baron Downpatrick, by courtesy. A second cousin removed of Charles III, Downpatrick is the most senior member of the House of Windsor to be excluded from the line of succession to the British throne for practicing the Roman Catholic faith.
Early Life and Family
Downpatrick was born on 2 December 1988 at St Mary’s Hospital, London, and grew up in Cambridge. He is the eldest child of George Windsor, Earl of St Andrews, son and heir apparent of Prince Edward, Duke of Kent.
Downpatrick’s mother, Sylvana, Countess of St Andrews, by birth member of the Austrian Tomaselli family, is a Canadian-born historian of Austro-Italian and French extraction. Diana, Princess of Wales, was Downpatrick, but died before he got to know her well.
Downpatrick is a close to his third cousin Princess Beatrice and to his younger sisters Lady Marina and Lady Amelia Windsor, a fashion model. His great-grandmother Princess Marina, Duchess of Kent, was the British royal family's fashion icon in the post-war era.
Education and Career
Downpatrick was educated at Eton College and matriculated at Keble College, Oxford, where he studied Modern Languages with a specialization in French and German. He wanted to join British Army after the university, but had not recovered from rugby injuries.
Downpatrick first had the idea to launch a fashion brand while hiking in Scotland in 2009, but decided to first focus on his studies and career as a financial analyst at JP Morgan.
Downpatrick left JP Morgan and began working as a fashion designer in 2016. He is a co-founder and the creative director of the fashion label FIDIR, which he launched with Justine Dalby in 2017. The brand is a collection of outdoor-wear and accessories. He designs handbags, wallets, sweatshirts, wash bags, and T-shirts. His designs are inspired by the Scottish Highlands.
Succession Rights
In 2003, aged 15, following the example of his grandmother The Duchess of Kent and his uncle Lord Nicholas Windsor, Downpatrick, who was baptized in the Church of England, chose to be confirmed into the Catholic Church. He was therefore barred from the line of succession to the British throne according to the Act of Settlement 1701. As a second cousin once removed of King Charles III. Downpatrick is the most senior person excluded from the line of succession for being a Catholic. As of September 2022, he would have been 42nd in line. He remains second in the line of succession, after his father, to the Dukedom of Kent.
Title
2 December 1988 Lord Downpatrick
Religion Church of England (baptized) Roman Catholic (confirmed)
House: Windsor
