Prince Edward, the youngest child of the late Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, has been bestowed with the title of Duke of Edinburgh today on his 59th birthday.
Having held many of the Duke of Edinburgh’s responsibilities since his father, the previous owner of the title, passed away in 2021, Edward has now officially been presented the title by King Charles III.
Per Sky News, he will still retain his current title of the Earl of Forfar, though his new Duke of Edinburgh title will take precedence.
Edward received the title later than expected, as it was initially promised to him by Queen Elizabeth when his father first passed away, but the death of Queen Elizabeth just one year later meant the conferring of the Dukedom upon him had to wait.
Edward’s wife Sophie has in turn claimed the title of Duchess of Edinburgh and forgone the title of Countess of Wessex, while their son James has become the Earl of Wessex. James, however, will not be passed the Dukedom upon the death of Edward, and will instead inherit Edward’s title of the Earl of Forfar alongside his now-current Earl of Wessex title, while the Dukedom will instead fall back to the Crown.
All relatively routine circumstances for this side of the Royal Family. Elsewhere, however, controversy has found its way to Prince Harry and Meghan Markle yet again after it was revealed they have christened their daughter Lillibet, whose right to the title of Princess was recently recognized.
The couple is being accused of hypocrisy for using Royal titles for Lillibet and her brother Archie when Harry and Meghan themselves have distanced themselves from the rest of the Royal Family, with the couple citing they wish for their children to decide for themselves how involved they want to be with the Royal life when they grow up; apparently, offering freedom of choice for your child is cause for finger-pointing.