Edward Windsor, Lord Downpatrick

Downpatrick was born on 2 December 1988 at St Mary's Hospital, London, and grew up in Cambridge.[1][4] He is the eldest child of George Windsor, Earl of St Andrews, son and heir apparent of Prince Edward, Duke of Kent. His mother, Sylvana, Countess of St Andrews, is an academic and historian, a fellow of St. John's College, Cambridge, a member of the Austrian Tomaselli family, a Canadian by birth, of Austro-Italian and French descent.[1][6]

Downpatrick was educated at Eton College and later attended Keble College, Oxford, where he earned B.A. and M.A. degrees in modern languages with a specialisation in French and German.[4][7] While studying at Oxford, he held the position of president for the Bullingdon Club.[4][7] He wanted to join the British Army after the university, but had not recovered from rugby injuries.[1]

Downpatrick is a member of the British royal family. Diana, Princess of Wales, was Downpatrick's godmother,[8] but she died before he got to know her well.[1][7] He is close to his third cousin Princess Beatrice and to his younger sisters Lady Marina and Lady Amelia Windsor, who is a fashion model.[1][4] His great-grandmother, Princess Marina, Duchess of Kent, was the British royal family's fashion icon in the post-war era.[1]

Downpatrick first had the idea to launch a fashion brand while hiking in Scotland in 2009,[1] but decided to first focus on his studies and career as a financial analyst at JP Morgan.[8]

In 2016, Downpatrick left JP Morgan to work as a fashion designer. He founded the fashion label FIDIR and became its creative director, launching it in 2017.[9][10] The brand consists of outdoor wear and accessories and its designs are inspired by the Scottish Highlands.[1][11]

In 2021, Downpatrick established a travel company known as Aristeia Travel.[12] Later the same year, he formed a partnership with Jack Wheeler to create Wheeler–Windsor Expeditions.[13] He has authored travel guides on various regions and countries including the Himalayas,[14] Ireland,[15] North Macedonia,[16] Norway,[17] and the United Kindom.[18][19]

In 2003, aged 15, following the example of his grandmother the Duchess of Kent and his uncle Lord Nicholas Windsor, Downpatrick, who was baptised in the Church of England, chose to be confirmed into the Catholic Church.[20] He was therefore barred from the line of succession to the British throne according to the Act of Settlement 1701.[20] 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.[20]

As of September 2022, he would have been 42nd in line.[21] He remains second in the line of succession, after his father, to the Dukedom of Kent.[22]