Duke of Edinburgh
The King has conferred the Dukedom of Edinburgh upon his brother,
Prince Edward, on his 59th birthday.
What is the history behind the title
Duke of Edinburgh?
Duke of Edinburgh, named after the city of Edinburgh in Scotland,
is a title that has been created four times since 1726 for members of
the British royal family. It does not include any territorial landholdings
and does not produce any revenue for the title holder.
.jpg)
1726 creation
The title was first created in the Peerage of Great Britain on
26 July 1726 by King George I, who bestowed it on his grandson
Prince Frederick, who also became Prince of Wales the following year.
The subsidiary titles of the dukedom were Marquess of the Isle of Ely,
Earl of Eltham, in the County of Kent, Viscount of Launceston, in the
County of Cornwall, and Baron of Snowdon, in the County of
Caernarvon, all of which were also in the Peerage of
Great Britain. The marquessate was gazetted as Marquess of the
Isle of Wight, apparently erroneously. In later editions of the
London Gazette the Duke is referred to as the Marquess of the
Isle of Ely.
Upon Frederick's death, the titles were inherited by his
son Prince George. When Prince George became King George III
in 1760, the titles merged in the Crown and ceased to exist.
1866 creation
Queen Victoria re-created the title, this time in the Peerage of the
United Kingdom, on 24 May 1866 for her second son Prince Alfred,
instead of Duke of York, the traditional title of the second son of the
monarch. The subsidiary titles of the dukedom were Earl of Kent and
Earl of Ulster, also in the Peerage of the United Kingdom.
When Alfred became the Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha in 1893,
he retained his British titles. His only son that survived birth,
Alfred, Hereditary Prince of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, committed suicide
in 1899, so the Dukedom of Edinburgh and subsidiary titles became
extinct upon the elder Alfred's death in 1900.
1947 creation
The title was created for a third time on 19 November 1947
by King George VI, who bestowed it on his son-in-law
Philip Mountbatten, when he married Princess Elizabeth. Subsequently,
Elizabeth was styled "HRH The Princess Elizabeth, Duchess of Edinburgh"
until her accession in 1952.
The subsidiary titles of the dukedom were Earl of Merioneth and
Baron Greenwich, of Greenwich in the County of London; all these
titles were in the Peerage of the United Kingdom.
Earlier that year, Philip had renounced his Greek and Danish royal titles
(he was born a Prince of Greece and Denmark, being a male-line
grandson of King George I of the Hellenes and male-line great-grandson
of King Christian IX of Denmark) along with his rights to the Greek throne.
In 1957, Philip became a Prince of the United Kingdom.
Upon Philip's death on 9 April 2021, his eldest son Charles,
Prince of Wales, succeeded to all of his hereditary titles.
.jpg)
Upon Charles's accession to the throne on 8 September 2022,
the peerages merged in the Crown and ceased to exist.
2023 creation
It was announced in 1999, at the time of the wedding of
Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex, that he would eventually
follow his father as Duke of Edinburgh.
It was expected that a new, fourth creation would be bestowed on
Prince Edward after the third creation reverted to the Crown when
Charles III acceded to the throne.
In July 2021, The Times reported that Charles had decided not to give
the title to his brother upon accession.
Clarence House stated that "all stories of this nature are speculation,
no final decisions have been taken" and declined to comment further.
The title was created for a fourth time on 10 March 2023 by
King Charles III, who bestowed it on his brother Prince Edward,
when he turned 59. The title will be held by Prince Edward for
his lifetime, as a non-hereditary peerage title.
Source pictures: Wikipedia
Comments