It has long been expected that Prince Edward, the fourth and youngest son of Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip, would one day inherit his father's title of Duke of Edinburgh after Philip eventually passed away. Although Philip died in April 2021 and his title was returned to the royal family, it had been expected that Edward would one day inherit the title. According to several news organizations, King Charles' plan to slim down the monarchy could completely renege on his parents' pledge to give Edward the title, which would be a major shakeup for the royal family.

Edward has been given the title of Earl of Wessex, the only one of the Queen's sons who is not a duke (Prince Charles, popularly known as the Duke of Wales, is also the Duke of Cornwall, and Prince Andrew has been given the title of Duke of York). When Edward married Sophie Rhys-Jones (now Sophie, Countess of Wessex) in 1999, the Queen and Philip said that Edward would "eventually" inherit the title of Duke of Edinburgh, but it appears that Prince Charles may not carry out that plan after all. (A statement from Buckingham Palace 23 years ago states that "The Queen, the Duke of Edinburgh and the Prince of Wales have also agreed that Prince Edward should be given the title of Duke of Edinburgh when the current title currently held by Prince Philip is eventually returned to the Crown.")

"As is well known, the King wants to streamline the monarchy," a palace official told the Daily Mail. 'In other words, it makes no sense to make the Earl the Duke of Edinburgh. The Duke of Edinburgh is a hereditary title that would be inherited by James, Viscount Severn, son of the Earl and Countess of Wessex," he said. Basically, this is what the Earl accepted when he agreed that his children would not become princes or princesses". (In fact, Edward and Sophie's daughter Louise is named Lady Louise and James is Viscount Severn.)

"In the old days, when it was just my father's pipe dream, it was fine in theory," Edward once told the BBC. 'Of course, it depends on whether the Prince of Wales, when he becomes king, will carry it through. Yes, it will be quite a challenge to undertake that."

According to The Sun, Prince Charles intends to retain the title of Duke of Edinburgh, but is currently royal and will not use it.

And while this could be taken as disrespect for his youngest brother, Charles has not completely excluded Edward. Prince Charles is currently trying to add Edward and his sister, Princess Anne, to his list of advisors of state.