Lord Nicholas Charles Edward Jonathan Windsor (born 25 July 1970) is a relative of the British royal family, the youngest child of Prince Edward, Duke of Kent. As a Catholic convert, he has forfeited his right of succession to the throne. Lord Nicholas has voiced strong anti-abortion views.

Lord Nicholas Windsor
Lord Nicholas in 2013
Born (1970-07-25) 25 July 1970 (age 54)
Denmark Hill, London, England
EducationHarrow School
Alma materHarris Manchester College, Oxford
Spouse
(m. 2006)
Children3
Parents
RelativesHouse of Windsor

Early years

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Lord Nicholas Windsor was born on 25 July 1970 at King's College Hospital in Denmark Hill, London, to Prince Edward, Duke of Kent and Katharine, Duchess of Kent. He has an older brother, Lord St Andrews, and a sister, Lady Helen Taylor. He was baptised later that year at Windsor Castle. His godparents included Charles, Prince of Wales (later King Charles III), and Donald Coggan, at the time Archbishop of York and later Archbishop of Canterbury.[1]

Religion

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Lord Nicholas's mother, the Duchess of Kent, had been received into the Catholic Church in 1994.[2]

On 14 July 2011, Lord Nicholas became an Honorary Vice-president of the Friends of the Personal Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham, an Anglican Ordinariate within the Catholic Church.[3]

Lord Nicholas is also a patron of the Society of King Charles the Martyr and, though it is a largely Anglican society, he identifies it with his Catholic faith.[4] In a passage written by Windsor for the Society's website, he extolls Charles's virtues: "In the King's personal piety, devotion and support of the Church, his ecumenical understanding (far advanced for his day), his patronage of the Arts in the service of God, his inspiration of the Christian classic, Eikon Basilike and of course his martyrdom, we have much to REMEMBER and be thankful for."[4]

Lord Nicholas has voiced strong views on the issue of abortion, which he has stated is, as a societal threat, "worse than al-Qaeda".[5]

Marriage and family

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Lord Nicholas met his future wife, Paola Doimi de Lupis Frankopan Šubić Zrinski,[6] at a party in New York City in 1999 to mark the Millennium.[6][7] He became engaged to her in July 2006. Following a civil ceremony on 19 October 2006 in a London register office,[6] the couple had a religious marriage on 4 November 2006 in the Church of St Stephen of the Abyssinians in the Vatican and by the marriage the bride became Lady Nicholas Windsor. As required by the Royal Marriages Act 1772, the Queen consented to the marriage.[8] A House of Commons Early Day Motion welcomed "the first overt marriage within the rites of the Catholic Church of a member of the Royal Family since the reign of Queen Mary I, and the first marriage of a member of the Royal Family to take place within the Vatican City State".[9]

Lord and Lady Nicholas have three sons:

  • Albert Louis Philip Edward Windsor (born 2007)
  • Leopold Ernest Augustus Guelph Windsor (born 2009)
  • Louis Arthur Nicholas Felix Windsor (born 2014)

Their eldest son is the first Windsor to carry the name Albert since King George VI. An Early Day Motion in the House of Commons welcomed the baptism of Albert as the first royal child to be baptised a Catholic since 1688.[10]

Authored articles

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  • Windsor, Nicholas (10 October 2011). "The world doesn't have a right to abortion". The Telegraph. London. Retrieved 17 January 2016.
  • Windsor, Lord Nicholas (27 October 2011). "If we can abolish slavery, we can end abortion". Catholic Herald. Archived from the original on 8 December 2011. Retrieved 25 November 2023.

References

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  1. ^ "King Charles's lesser-known relative who said 'abortion is worse than al Qaeda'". 16 October 2023.
  2. ^ Eden, Richard (12 February 2012). "The Queen's cousin says: We are prejudice victims". The Telegraph. London. Retrieved 13 November 2017.
  3. ^ "About us". Friends of the Personal Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham. Retrieved 11 August 2022.
  4. ^ a b "WORD OF WELCOME | SKCM". 29 November 2011. Retrieved 24 January 2024.
  5. ^ Walker, Tim; Eden, Richard (20 December 2010). "'Abortion is worse than al-Qaeda,' says Duke of Kent's son Lord Nicholas Windsor". The Telegraph. London. Retrieved 13 November 2017.
  6. ^ a b c Black, A and C. "British Royal Family". Who's Who, Oxford University Press - 2015. Archived from the original on 21 February 2015. Retrieved 10 August 2015. Nicholas Charles Edward Jonathan, (Lord Nicholas Windsor), b 25 July 1970 Married 19 Oct. 2006, Princess Paola Doimi de Lupis Frankopan Šubić Zrinski
  7. ^ Paola de Frankopan (28 April 2011). "My Royal Wedding: Paola de Frankopan Remembers Her Own Marriage into the British Royal Family". Vogue Daily. Archived from the original on 9 January 2014.
  8. ^ "Privy Council". Privy Council. Archived from the original (Microsoft Document) on 3 November 2010. Retrieved 19 January 2012.
  9. ^ "Early Day Motion" (Microsoft Document). Parliament.uk. Retrieved 11 February 2006.
  10. ^ "Early Day Motion" (Microsoft Document). Parliament.co.uk. Retrieved 24 June 2008.