King Charles grants Edward and Sophie titles of Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh, fulfills mother's promise
LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM: King Charles’ youngest brother and his wife, Edward and Sophie, have been honored with a new title months after Queen Elizabeth II’s death. The royal pair will now be known as the Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh. As per reports, Charles gave them the new top titles as it was their late mother’s wish.
Buckingham Palace released a statement announcing the development. It read, “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. The title will be held by Prince Edward for His Royal Highness’s lifetime.”
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‘Proud to continue Prince Philip’s legacy’
“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 official statement continued.
It added, “His Royal Highness was created [for] Earl of Wessex in 1999, on the occasion of his marriage to Miss Sophie Rhys-Jones. In 2019, Queen Elizabeth II granted The Earl of Wessex the additional title of Earl of Forfar, on the occasion of His Royal Highness’s 55th birthday.”
With the promotion, Edward and Sophie’s teenage son will also be given a new title, The Mirror reported. He is believed to be now called Earl of Wessex but the couple’s 19-year-old daughter, Lady Louise Windsor, would not receive any new title.
‘A pipe dream of my father’s’
As per reports, it was long understood that a day will come when Edward will be the Duke of Edinburgh since the late Queen had made the promise about the title on June 19, 1999, when Edward married Sophie. A statement at the time said, “The Queen, the Duke of Edinburgh, and Prince of Wales have also agreed that the Prince Edward should be given the dukedom of Edinburgh in due course when the present title now held by Prince Philip eventually reverts to the Crown.”
Earlier, Sophie had also spoken of the time when the late Prince Philip expressed his desire to give the title to her husband. She reportedly said, “We sat there slightly stunned. He literally came straight in and said, ‘Right. I’d like it very much if you would consider that.’”
But Edward had once clarified that granting of title would only be his elder brother’s decision. He stated, “It was fine in theory, ages ago when 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, so we’ll wait and see. So yes, it will be quite a challenge taking that on.”