| Earldom of Wessex held with Earldom of Forfar | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Creation date | 19 June 1999[1] |
| Creation | Second |
| Created by | Elizabeth II |
| Peerage | Peerage of the United Kingdom |
| First holder | Godwin of Wessex |
| Present holder | Prince Edward, Duke of Edinburgh |
| Heir apparent | James, Earl of Wessex[a] |
| Remainder to | the 1st Earl's heirs male of the body lawfully begotten. |
| Subsidiary titles | Viscount Severn[1] |
| Status | Extant |
| Seat(s) | Bagshot Park |
Earl of Wessex is a title that has been created twice in British history – once in the pre-Conquest Anglo-Saxon nobility of England, and once in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. In the 6th century AD the region of Wessex (the lands of the West Saxons), in the south and southwest of present-day England, became one of the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms (one of the components of the so-called Heptarchy); in the tenth century the increasing power of the Kingdom of the West Saxons led to a united Kingdom of England.
- ^ a b "No. 55536". The London Gazette. 28 June 1999. p. 7011.
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