Princess Charlotte Could Be Getting a New Royal Title

For now, because of a generous gesture from King Charles, Prince Edward is officially the Duke of Edinburgh. However, the distinction won't, as most royal titles do, go to his son, James. Instead, People reports, the honorific may go to Princess Charlotte in the future, all because of a sweet wish from the late Prince Philip.

Back in 1999, Buckingham Palace shared that Philip requested that his youngest son, Prince Edward, receive the title of Duke of Edinborough. Charles made that official today on Edward's 59th birthday. That caused some shifts in royal titles, making Edward's wife, Sophie, the Duchess of Edinburgh, and their son James the new Earl of Wessex. Before today, he was known as Viscount Severn. When it shared the news, Buckingham Palace specified that "the title will be held by Prince Edward for His Royal Highness's lifetime." That means James won't get the title when Edward passes.

When that happens, the position could pass to one of Prince William's younger children, Princess Charlotte or Prince Louis, when he ascends to the throne. The whole thing fits into King Charles' rumored wishes for a slimmer, modern monarchy.

Edward and Sophie chose not to use prince and princess titles for their children, though they were allowed, as the kids are grandchildren of the monarch.

"We try to bring them up with the understanding they are very likely to have to work for a living," Sophie told the Times of London, explaining her reasoning for not using HRH (his royal highness and her royal highness) titles for Louise and James. "Hence, we made the decision not to use HRH titles. They have them and can decide to use them from 18, but I think it's highly unlikely."

The Times reported that on Prince Edward and Sophie's wedding day, Buckingham Palace made the decision to earmark the titles for the couple.

"The Queen, the Duke of Edinburgh, and the Prince of Wales have also agreed that Prince Edward should be given the dukedom of Edinburgh in due course, when the present title held now by Prince Philip eventually reverts to the crown," the palace said in a statement at the time.

Even with the promise, when Prince Philip passed away in 2021, the title went to King Charles, since he was Philip's eldest son. It seemed King Charles was just waiting for the right time to offer the title to his little brother.

Today's royal update comes after Meghan Markle and Prince Harry's children's titles were officially changed on the royal family's website to read "Prince Archie of Sussex" and "Princess Lilibet of Sussex." They were previously referred to as "Master Archie Mountbatten-Windsor" and "Miss Lilibet Mountbatten-Windsor."