KING Charles is reportedly planning to change Princess Charlotte’s title to the Duchess of Edinburgh in honour of the late Queen.
According to a royal insider, Prince Phillip wanted his youngest son, Prince Edward, to inherit the title but the decision rests with the King.
The insider, who spoke to the Mail Online, said King Charles is now preparing to name Prince William and Kate Middleton’s middle child as the Duchess of Edinburgh – a title held by the Queen before she ascended to the throne in 1952.
Charlotte, who is currently seven years old, is third-in-line for the throne.
The source told the newspaper: “Charlotte’s position is historically significant because she is the first female member of the Royal Family whose place in the line of succession will not be surpassed by her younger brother.
“So it is constitutionally significant that Charlotte should be given such a corresponding title, because it is not beyond the realms of possibility that she will accede the throne if, for example, Prince George does not have children.
“It would be a fitting way to remember the Queen – who, of course, had the title Duchess of Edinburgh – and a way for His Majesty to honour the line of succession.”
Following Charles’s decision to name his eldest son the Prince of Wales, a petition to end the title “out of respect” for the Welsh garnered nearly 40,000 signatures.
Middleton was also named the Princess of Wales, the first time the title has been held by anyone since Princess Diana.
The page on the petition website, which remains active, reads: “The title remains an insult to Wales and is a symbol of historical oppression.”
