Will Edward become the Duke of Edinburgh?

[MoonlightWanderer]

It has long been speculated that Edward would inherit the Duke of Edinburgh title, but now sources are saying that Charles may not pass it on to him after all.

Has else anyone read these news reports? Apparently Charles was asking if he could use the DoE title instead.

I suspect that many titles will be handed out if/when Charles ascends to the throne. I don't know if Edward will get the DoE title or not, but I suspect he will be given a dukedom.

I also wish I had these kinds of first-world problems, but I think it is interesting from a historical perspective.

The title isn't "inherited ", it belongs to Prince Charles at the moment and he can give it to Prince Edward or do nothing with it. It's his decision .

If he is trying to slim down the monarchy he may decided on a different option .

I saw programme where Edward had taken on much of the weight of the DoE scheme as he loved the programme and has the same vision for it as his dad. Would make sense to go to the palace and get it from the DoE then just Prince Edward.

Just before Edward married Sophie , HM announced their titles and said that in due course , Edward would inherit the Edinburgh Dukedom .

The queen announced he would be in the 90’s I believe? Seems pretty churlish off Charles to change the plan when Sophie and Edward actually have the potential to be quite well liked and respected.

If PC refuses to hand it to Edward , he will go against his parents’ wishes . On the other hand we know he is trying to limit titles .

I don't think Prince Charles can confer the title until he is monarch - at which point the title vests with thee Crown and he can bestow it as he sees fit.

If it was his DMum's stated wish, I expect it will happen. Especially as the Wessexes are useful working Royals (their rehabilitation took a couple of decades, but seems complete now), and it might not be a good thing for the Cambridge DC to have to move into full time duties before they have had a chance to do something else.

It could also give a useful line of Dukes of Edinburgh to eep the name in the awards scheme, even if Viscount Severn does not take up any role ther duties.

I thought Charles had the right idea with slimming down the monarchy, but I do think that Edward should have the title. If it is a hereditary title I can see why Charles would be thinking about the repercussions further down the line because I thought that when Philip died the title went back to the crown, not automatically to the eldest son. It is complicated!

I think changing the goalposts now would be wrong, especially as the Wessexes are a safe pair of hands and expected to do much more over the next 10-15 years than was previously envisaged. If not the Edinburgh title, there should be another dukedom, though i doubt it will have the same resonance for Edward.

Ok, thanks. I don't really know much about it, but I do wonder if it is about the next generation. When Anne dies her children will not inherit any titles from her, right? Charlotte will become The Princess Royal when William becomes king, I think.

Andrew has only daughters and no sons to inherit the Duke of York title, but I guess if Edward becomes Duke of Edinburgh, then James will inherit the title on his death. Is that right? I'm wondering if this is a reason they are considering not giving Edward the title. Or does it not work like that?

I read an article in the DM (I know, I know) this morning on this and frankly I think Charles will really come to regret it if he does withhold the DofE title from Edward.

The official leaked sources from Clarence House are emphasizing the need to slim down the monarchy but no one is going to buy that for a minute. It will look like Charles is jealous of Edward's close relationship with Philip and always has been. The DM suggests directly that Charles is annoyed at the recent favourable news coverage of the Wessexes and the reports of how close they are to the queen.

Charles is going to take the throne as one of the least popular monarchs of recent times. True or not, his reputation for being petty and jealous of more popular royals has been around for decades. Looking churlish about refusing his father's express wishes to make Edward the DofE won't help at all.

It would look even worse if Charles attempted to use the DofE title himself (I don't actually think he'll go that far. The DM says his aides told him his existing title of Duke of Rothesy was senior to Edinburgh so he dropped the idea).

Maybe the queen can step in and give Edward a different dukedom, if not the Edinburgh dukedom. It's VERY unlike me to care about this nonsense and I'm all for a completely slimmed down monarchy, even a zero monarchy... But the Wessexes seem like they've been quietly working away for years and excepting their early-on commercial missteps, they've been refreshingly scandal free and they're the only successful marriage of the Queen's children.

I haven't read anything at all about this - always believed that it had been agreed between HM, Philip and Charles that 'in due course' the title would be given to Edward. Hope that is the case - both he and Sophie are doing great work with the D of E scheme, as well as generally supporting the Queen.

Is it just the media making trouble and trying to stir things? I cannot believe that the 70+ year old heir to the throne is jealous of a title being awarded to his brother. Also, although there were clear differences between Philip and Charles in past years, it seems to me that they had become much closer prior to Philip's death - and I would have expected Charles to honour his parents' wishes.

I don't doubt the media is stirring things up but I think the sources from Clarence house did speak to royal reporters on this issue and so I think there's some truth in it, how much truth is the question!

perhaps Charles genuinely does just want to slim down the monarchy and this is part of that and nothing more. The problem is that it's not going to be how the public sees it!

Anyway, I thought the royals were supposed to have a lot on their hands now that H&M have gone anyway?

Richard Kay wrote the article in the DM and he tends to have pretty reliable sources.

Charlotte will become The Princess Royal when William becomes king, I think

The title is Princess Anne's for life so it depends on whether she is still around when William becomes king. It isn't an automatic thing either - William has to grant it to Charlotte. Anne didn't become PR until the 80s and the Queen never held the title as her aunt Princess Mary was still alive at the time.

I’ll start by saying that none of really know what’s going on but.....

It seems to me that Charles has no emotional intelligence and doesn’t think about other family members feelings.

It’s well documented he was jealous of diana’s popularity and was close to Camilla even while engaged to Diana. I think most of us would be distraught if our fiancées were still close to ‘the one that got away’

Secondly perhaps this is because I don’t really understand what titles mean - but can they not give someone a title to be inclusive but not expect them to perform duties?

I’m no Meghan / Harry fan but if I were Harry I perhaps would feel second best anyway and I can see why he’d be upset if his children weren’t given titles - it does seem unfair. I understand that they were never going to get them according to rules but if Charles can change rules to not give a title to Prince Edward surely he could change them to give a title to Harry’s children / his grandchildren.

The monarchy is going to inevitably slim down given that the queen had four children and Charles only had two.

So I really don’t see why Edward can’t be D of E for the rest of his life and Harry’s children titled. And there are other older royals,, cousins if the queen I think, prince Michael of Kent, duke of Kent, Princess Alexandra - maybe others I haven’t thought of. Surely it would be preferable for their titles not to be passed on than for Charles to prevent Edward getting a title.

Sorry that’s rambling but I supposed I’m trying to say that the monarchy will inevitably be slimming and Charles seems inconsistent with his decisions.

The royals Dukes that remain that are cousins of the Queen (the Duke of Kent and the Duke of Gloucester) will no longer be “royal” as soon as the current Dukes die. Their oldest sons will inherit the titles, but they’ll no longer be HRHs - just normal Dukes in the UK peerage, and part of the extended family. Like Edward VII and Alexandra’s daughter Louise, whose husband was made the Duke of Fife. They now have no real royal connection, but there is still a Duke of Fife.

So if HRH Prince Edward is made the DoE, that title would then eventually pass to his son, but the son will never be an HRH.

Maybe Prince Charles doesn’t want to see the Edinburgh title pass out of “royal” use? Who would know. It’s not like he has need of a historic title for Louis - by the time William is King it’s possible his Uncle Andrew will no longer be around and then he has the very historic Duke of York title free to bestow on his second son, should he choose.

So if HRH Prince Edward is made the DoE, that title would then eventually pass to his son, but the son will never be an HRH

Probably. Technically as a grandchild in the male line of the monarch, he is HRH, but the Wessexes decided that they would not use that style for their children. But the DC will be able to choose for themselves when 18. I'd be pretty amazed if he opted to do that

@ stealthninjamum

As has been said hundreds of times , Archie and Lilibet will automatically become Prince/ Princess the minute Charles succeeds his mother .
Whether or not H and M accept these titles will be very interesting and telling .

Secondly perhaps this is because I don’t really understand what titles mean - but can they not give someone a title to be inclusive but not expect them to perform duties?

Yes, they did that with former King Edward, he became the Duke of Windsor.

I think Charles would be a fool (I think he is a bit of a fool generally) to not create Edward D of E, it would be massively unpopular with the public.

The queen came close to being the last monarch, after the death of Diana, and she has historically been well liked.

Charles meddles and tells people what to do, he is not popular.

@Oldbutstillgotit I hoped it was obvious from my post that I’m not an expert, I have not seen it written hundreds of times. This will be my final post in this part of Mumsnet.

Anyway if it is the case that Harry’s children would get a title on the Queen’s passing I do not understand why they couldn’t be given one a few years early given that it seemed to matter to them.

Thanks serenster I didn’t realise that Duke titles keep being passed down but royal status doesn’t. In that case I sort of see why Charles would not want his brother to be Duke of Edinburgh if he wants it to remain royal, however if it is going against the wishes of the Queen and the former Duke of Edinburgh I find that sad.

Apologies @ stealthninjamum I didn’t mean to come over as snippy. 💐
I am finding MN a bit unpleasant today so reckon I will take a break.
Just got info , Archie was offered a title ( Earl of Dumbarton) however his parents declined .
Only they can say why Prince/ Princess is so important .

Previous poster correct - it's not within Charles' present remit to give or not until the title returns to the crown when he becomes king.

Not sure of the issue giving the title as Edward already has a title so from a slim down perspective it's changing 1 title for another, not creating more people with titles

It's being reported in the media in the style of previous info releases which are done deals, so this isn't speculation, this is exactly how this sort of information is released.

I wonder why this is happening now? I've also noticed that the official coverage of H&M just softened and the mainstream commentator narrative is now that they were hard working and diligent but misunderstood and stressed - and that Meghan's her family were shites to her, rather than the other way round.

Something has obviously happened behind closed doors to make that 180 happen - and the sudden decision to snub Edward - it would be fascinating to know what.

I feel, like the government, the royals sometimes like to leak things to the press to test waters. It seems Edward would become the DoE only once the Queen dies and Charles becomes king, so it's all a bit premature yet. It will be interesting to see what actually does happen if/when Charles becomes king.

I think Archie could have been the Earl of Dumbarton in the same way James is Viscount Severn. I think many sources have said that H&M themselves chose not to use the title to enable him to live as a private citizen. It may or may not be true though. Who can know for sure?

Sorry crossed posts with several people there!