With the death of Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh, on 9 April 2021, his titles passed to his eldest son and heir, Prince Charles, The Prince of Wales. Prince Charles has gained the titles Duke of Edinburgh with its subsidiary titles of Earl of Merioneth and Baron Greenwich, of Greenwich in the County of London.
The College of Arms confirmed, “These peerages are hereditary and on the death of His Royal Highness have passed to his eldest son, HRH The Prince of Wales. In the event of the Prince of Wales or any subsequent holder of these titles succeeding to the Crown, these titles and all others held will merge with the Crown.”1
However, you may remember that it was announced upon the marriage of his younger son Prince Edward to Sophie Rhys-Jones that “The Queen, The Duke of Edinburgh and The Prince of Wales have also agreed that The Prince Edward should be given the Dukedom of Edinburgh in due course, when the present title now held by Prince Philip eventually reverts to the Crown.”2
Upon the death of Queen Elizabeth II on 8 September 2022, Prince Charles automatically became King, and his titles merged with the Crown, including the title of Duke of Edinburgh. This meant that Charles was now free to recreate the title for his brother Prince Edward, which he did, for life, on 10 March 2023.
I would love to see this title go to Edward as I believe that both Edward and his wife Sophie have proven to be loyal, hard working and dutiful members of the Royal Family while the Queen was alive and proved to be invaluable companions to her during her grieving period for Prince Philip. They were the ones who were there for her and appeared to be the ones who provided her with the strength and support she needed at that very difficult time. Sophie became very close to the Queen and the Duke as did Edward. It would appear that these two Royal Family members have always worked quietly and well without seeking the publicity that others have needed. They have done their duty as and when required to the best of their ability and have shown a lovely relatability to people of all walk of life and all ages. They have become a great asset to the royal family and deserve to be recognised for the hard work they have done. They have both put in a lot of hard work for the Duke of Edinburgh Award Scheme with Edward taking the lead in the scheme after his father became less able to do as much as he used to. He showed his great interest in it and proved to be more than capable of carrying on his father’s dream. I believe it is time he was awarded for many years of service in this area and given his father’s title so that they can both carry on the Duke’s legacy into the future and build on it with the enthusiasm they bring to everything they begin. Youth groups need positive leadership and I believe this pair of positive people can carry on the Duke’s positivity to keep his dream alive for more generations to come.