The Royal Family will be celebrating the life of
Prince Philiptoday, on what would have been his 102nd birthday.
After King Charles took to the throne he bestowed his late father's title, the Duke of Edinburgh, to his younger brother Prince Edward, making his wife Sophie Wessex the Duchess of Edinburgh. The late Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip always planned to pass on the Dukedom to Edward and Sophie after their deaths.
The Mirror reports Sophie and Edward were 'stunned' by the news when Philip informed them of the impending title change. The couple were left gobsmacked by Philip's matter-of-fact statement regarding the title but knew the decision ultimately lay with Charles.
Speaking of the moment she and her husband were told Philip would like her husband to take on the title, she told the Telegraph: "We sat there slightly stunned. He literally came straight in and said, ‘Right. I’d like it very much if you would consider that’.”
Edward previously 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."
In March 2023, Charles honoured the wishes of his parents and bestowed the Dukedom on Edward on his 59th birthday.
Philip wanted to give Edward the title in recognition of his son’s commitment to the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award, the youth scheme which is one of Philip’s greatest legacies.
In keeping with the Letters Patent issued when King George VI gave Philip the title in 1947, Charles inherited the Edinburgh dukedom when Philip died – but he did not use it.
After the death of the Queen last September, Charles acceded to the throne and the title merged with the crown which meant he could grant it to someone else.
To grant it to Edward, Charles issued a new Letters Patent – a document from a sovereign issued under the Great Seal of the Realm.
The dukedom – which in the past has been hereditary – will not, however, pass down to the Edinburghs' son James when Edward dies.
This paves the way for one of the Prince and Princess of Wales’s children to potentially be given the title in the future, with Prince Louis the most likely candidate.
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