It's a royal tussle for titles! Even though Queen
Elizabeth II promised Prince Edward that he'd become Duke of Edinburgh,
King Charles III has his granddaughter in mind. And people are not happy about it.
There could be a big change in store for Princess Charlotte of Wales and
her future in the royal family. But this exciting change for the 7-year-old princess
could mean bad news for her great uncle, Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex.
According to Royal Central, the sons of a king or queen are traditionally given
the title of duke on their wedding day. Prince Edward was not made duke
because he was set to inherit his father Prince Philip's title, Duke of Edinburgh.
Edward and his wife Sophie were reportedly promised the titles on their wedding day in
1999. Express notes that Buckingham Palace announced the gift when the pair married:
"It was said to be a tradeoff due to the fact that his children would not be prince or princess."
Expecting to take the Edinburgh title, Edward took over some of his father's responsibilities
when Philip retired in 2017. Town & Country noted that Edward was very involved with the Duke of
Edinburgh's Award, which helps young people gain life and work skills. But after Prince
Philip died in 2021, there were rumors that Edward might not inherit his father's title after all.
In July 2022, a source close to then-Prince Charles explained to Tatler,
But Edward's bad news could be good for Charlotte,
because the princess might be receiving a title she didn't expect from her grandfather,
who is now the king. The Daily Mail reported that King Charles had yet to pass the Duke
of Edinburgh title to his brother Edward, because he was saving the title of duchess for Charlotte.
A royal insider told the outlet,
Edward knows the decision about the title is up to Charles. In June 2021, Edward told the BBC,
"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."
The king's decision to hold the Edinburgh title makes sense as Charles is keen to "slim down the
monarchy," and because Charlotte was reportedly Queen Elizabeth's favorite great-grandchild.
Princess Charlotte will likely be pleased to get a title from her grandfather,
but she might be the only happy one. Many blasted King Charles for giving
Princess Charlotte the title promised to his brother Edward.
"Life is full of challenges, and the award prepares you for those,
but life also presents lots of opportunities."
A poll showed that lots of people think Edward should get the title. More than
10,000 people voted in an Express poll, and a whopping 94% of respondents were
against the king's apparent decision to give the title to Charlotte. No,
it's not a scientific poll, but clearly Express readers seemed to believe the
king should honor Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip's wish that the title go to Edward.
One commenter on the Express website wrote,
Another wrote,
Another unhappy royal watcher tweeted:
"King Charles is a royal a/hole not giving Prince Edward what
the Queen & Prince Philip promised on his wedding day the title of DUKE OF
EDINBURGH [...] His whole family will hate him before Christmas."
What other moves will King Charles make regarding royal titles? Might
they affect Harry and Meghan's children, Archie and Lilibet? Time will tell.