King Charles has handed his late father’s title – the Duke of Edinburgh – to his brother Prince Edward, honouring the late Queen Elizabeth II and Philip’s wishes.
harles conferred the title on the former Earl of Wessex in celebration of Edward’s 59th birthday yesterday. Sophie, the former Countess of Wessex, is now the Duchess of Edinburgh and their 15-year-old son James, Viscount Severn is the new Earl of Wessex.
The couple’s first engagement as the new Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh was fittingly held in the Scottish capital’s City Chambers, and Edward said the day had been “very overwhelming” for him and his wife.
Speaking at a reception recognising the city’s support for Ukrainian refugees, some of whom attended, Edward told guests: “Thank you for welcoming us to Edinburgh today on, indeed, a very special and very overwhelming day for now my wife and duchess,” he joked, while looking at Sophie.
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He added: “I also want to express my thanks to everybody who has worked so hard to make our Ukrainian friends so welcome.”
The development comes after another title change this week, when Prince Harry and Meghan Markle began officially using the titles prince and princess for their children, Archie and Lilibet.
Buckingham Palace said in a statement: “His Majesty the King has been pleased to confer the dukedom of Edinburgh upon Prince Edward, on the occasion of HRH’s 59th birthday today.
“The title will be held for HRH’s lifetime. The dukedom was last created for Prince Philip in 1947, upon his marriage to Princess Elizabeth, who held the title of Duchess of Edinburgh before acceding to the throne in 1952.
“The new Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh are proud to continue Prince Philip’s legacy of promoting opportunities for young people of all backgrounds to reach their full potential.”
The dukedom – which in the past has been hereditary – will not, however, pass down to son James when Edward dies. This paves the way for one of Prince William and Kate Middleton’s children to potentially be given the title in the future, with Prince Louis the most likely candidate.
Philip had always wanted his youngest son Edward to inherit his title, in recognition of his son’s decades-long commitment to the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award, the youth scheme which is one of Philip’s greatest legacies. But the decision ultimately was down to Charles as king.
Despite agreeing to his father’s wishes in 1999, Charles was reported to be reluctant to hand the dukedom over to Edward when he became king. He is known to be in favour of a slimmed-down monarchy.
Edward appeared to be aware of the uncertainty, hinting in a TV interview in the aftermath of Philip’s death: “It was sort of a pipe dream of my father’s... and of course, it will depend on whether or not the Prince of Wales, when he becomes King, whether he’ll do that.”
The changes were swiftly updated on the royal family’s website yesterday morning, just minutes after the official announcement.
Archie and Lilibet became a prince and a princess six months ago but the changes were only made on the list of succession page this week after Harry and Meghan used Lilibet’s new formal title for the first time.