James, Earl of Wessex, 18, towers over mother Duchess Sophie during rare public appearance

Just a few days after celebrating his 18^th birthday, James, Earl of Wessex, made an appearance alongside his parents, the Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh, and his sister, Lady Louise Windsor, 22, on Christmas Day.

Prince Edward, 61, and Sophie, 60, and their family were among the royal relatives to join the King and Queen at church in Sandringham.

James, who is in the final year of his higher education, visibly towered over his mother and sister, despite Sophie and Lady Louise both wearing heeled shoes.

The teenager, who donned a dark overcoat over a white shirt and purple patterned tie, appears to take after his father, Edward, who is believed to be around 6ft tall.

While James joins the Duke and Duchess on occasions such as the Easter Sunday service and Christmas, he is not expected to take up royal duties once he has completed his education.

Little is known about Edward and Sophie's son, but it's an important academic year for the teenager as he's now in the final year of his A-Level studies and is expected to sit his final school exams next spring. 

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With his 18^th birthday on 17 December, James quietly passed a milestone, including the decision over using his HRH style.

In an interview with The Sunday Times in 2020, Sophie previously said of her children: "We try to bring them up with the understanding they will very likely have to work for a living. Hence we made the decision not to use HRH titles. They have them and can decide to use them from 18, but I think it's highly unlikely."

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Royal author Robert Jobson previously told HELLO!: "It now looks likely that [James] will follow his elder sister's example and decline to use it, as she did in 2021."

"When Louise turned 18 in 2021, she had the right to adopt the style of HRH and the title of Princess. She declined. She has continued to be known as Lady Louise Windsor and has lived firmly as a private individual rather than a working royal," Robert adds. 

"James remains legally entitled to be HRH Prince James, despite currently using the courtesy title Earl of Wessex. But Louise's decision makes the family's preference clear: titles may exist on paper, but they need not be used."

Lady Louise is currently in the final and fourth year of her English degree at the University of St Andrews and has previously expressed an interest in pursuing a career in the military, diplomacy or law on her LinkedIn page.