King Charles III Names Prince Edward the New Duke of Edinburgh

A brand new title. King Charles III has formally introduced that his youngest brother, Prince Edward, will inherit their late father Prince Philip’s Duke of Edinburgh honor.

“His Majesty The King has been pleased to confer the Dukedom of Edinburgh upon The Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex and Forfar, on the occasion of His Royal Highness’s 59th birthday,” an announcement learn on Friday, March 10. “The title will be held by Prince Edward for His Royal Highness’s lifetime.”

The duchy was final held by Philip, who died in April 2021 at the age of 99, who obtained the title in 1947 after he married Queen Elizabeth II.

“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 royal household’s assertion continued, noting that Edward’s spouse, Countess Sophie, shall be often known as the Duchess of Edinburgh.

Edward and the former publicist, 58, have been beforehand named the Earl and Countess of Wessex by the late queen — who died in September 2022 at the age of 96 — upon their 1999 marriage, as an alternative of a dukedom like his brothers and nephews. Edward was later conferred as the Earl of Forfar in 2019 to rejoice his fifty fifth birthday.

Elizabeth and Philip shared 4 kids collectively: Charles, 74, Princess Anne, Prince Andrew and Edward. Following the former Duke of Edinburgh’s dying, it was broadly predicted that Edward would obtain the title since he didn’t already maintain a dukedom.

“There’s talk, actually, that when Prince Charles becomes king, the title Duke of Edinburgh will go to Prince Edward, the queen’s fourth child,” creator Andrew Morton purported to Us Weekly in April 2021. “He has been the head of [the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award], which is this organization where teenage kids go camping and hiking. … Very character building.”

Edward’s new title has already been up to date on the household’s official web site, which additionally reveals that his 14-year-old son, Viscount James, has turn into the new Earl of Wessex. Edward and Sophie additionally share 18-year-old daughter Lady Louise, who didn’t inherit a brand new title attributable to the order of succession. Louise and James, regardless of being the kids of a prince, have by no means opted to make use of official HRH titles.

“We try to bring them up with the understanding that they are very likely to have to work for a living,” Sophie beforehand instructed the U.Okay.’s The Sunday Times in June 2020. “Hence we made the decision not to use HRH titles. They have them and can decide to use them from 18, but it’s highly unlikely.”

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Charles’ determination to bestow the duchy of Edinburgh on Edward comes shortly after Us confirmed that he had requested that son Prince Harry and his spouse, Meghan Markle, wanted to vacate their Frogmore Cottage residence reportedly in favor of Andrew, 63, occupying the area. (The Duke of York had allegedly been requested to downsize from the Royal Lodge following his sexual assault scandal, which he’s denied.)