Charles ‘plans to deny brother Duke of Edinburgh title’

The Prince of Wales
PA Wire
Leah Sinclair12 July 2021

Prince Charles is planning to deny his brother Edward the Duke of Edinburgh title, it has been reported.

Buckingham Palace announced in 1999 that Edward would succeed his father “in due course” with both his parents’ consent.

Instead, Edward was granted the Earl of Wessex title by the Queen after his marriage to Sophie Rhys-Jones that same year.

After Prince Philip’s death in April this year, the title reverted to Philip’s eldest son, Charles, as set out in the Letters Patent issued when George VI gave Philip the title in 1947.

According to sources, Charles is now unsure whether to grant the title to Edward, another member of his family, or leave it in abeyance, the Sunday Times reports.

One insider told the paper: “The prince is the Duke of Edinburgh as it stands, and it is up to him what happens to the title. It will not go to Edward.”

And another said: “Edinburgh won’t go to them (the Wessexes) as far as the prince is concerned.”

The Earl of Wessex
PA Archive

Once Charles ascends to the throne, the Duke of Edinburgh title will merge with the crown meaning that it can be regranted anew to Edward.

David White, who advises the royal family on heraldry, told the newspaper that there was no urgent need for Charles to grant Edward the title after his accession to the throne.

He noted: “George VI was the Duke of York and when he became king, the dukedom merged with the Crown. It wasn’t granted again until Prince Andrew became Duke of York.”

Philip was the sixth person to bear the title the Duke of Edinburgh.

Prince Philip: The Duke of Edinburgh - In pictures

1/68

He was awarded the title on the day of his wedding to Queen Elizabeth on November 20 1947.

Buckingham Palace declined to comment.

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in