While many royal family members are enjoying the summer, James, Earl of Wessex, is preparing to receive major news about his future.
The 16-year-old son of the Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh will find out the results of his GCSE exams next Thursday, 22 August. In the meantime, he is likely spending the days leading up to the big day with his fellow royal family members at Balmoral.
Results day for the Earl comes four years after his elder sister, Lady Louise, 20, received her GCSE results. Louise’s results were kept private at the time, as Buckingham Palace deemed them a personal matter, and it is likely the same approach will apply to James.
At the time, Duchess Sophie made a rare comment about her daughter’s academic ability, telling the Times: "She's working hard and will do A-levels. I hope she goes to university. I wouldn’t force her, but if she wants to, she can. She's quite clever."
Since then, Louise has gone on to study English, History, Politics, and Drama at A-level before following in the footsteps of her cousin Prince William and his wife, the Prince and Princess of Wales. She is currently in her second year at St. Andrew’s University, studying English.
As for James, what he will choose for his A-levels or whether he has his sights set on the acclaimed Scottish institution is yet to be revealed.
Will James have a royal role in the future?
Despite inheriting his father’s former role as the Earl of Wessex, Duchess Sophie has explained in the past that it is unlikely her children will take on royal duties in the future.
She told The Times: “We try to bring them up with the understanding they are very likely going to have to work for a living. Hence why we made the decision not to use HRH titles.
“They have them and can decide to use them from age 18, but I think it’s highly unlikely.”
However, due to the recent health issues affecting more senior members of the royal family, King Charles and the Princess of Wales, Prince William, may lean on his cousins, as the late Queen Elizabeth II did during her reign.
HELLO!'s Online Royal Correspondent Danielle Stacey says: "While we have heard from Lady Louise in brief interviews or at public engagements, her brother, James, appears to have a much more reserved and private character. While he has attended public events such as Trooping the Colour and Easter Sunday over the years, Edward and Sophie have kept details about their children's schooling and plans very much private. James could choose to go down a military route like his cousins or carve out his own career - Edward previously had his own production company while Sophie ran a PR firm. Lady Louise and James could potentially support Prince William in future, and represent the monarchy at events, like the late Queen's cousins did, or have their own jobs and choose to support charities and organisations they share a close affinity with - like Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie.
When Sophie and Prince Edward married in 1999, the newlyweds were told that any future children they might have, whether male or female, would “have courtesy titles as sons and daughters of an earl,” according to the BBC.