One of the funniest royal stories of the month is this beef between Prince Charles and his youngest brother, Prince Edward. Long story short: the Queen and Prince Philip always intended for Edward to “inherit” the Duke of Edinburgh title when Philip passed, and that’s why Edward was only given the Earl of Wessex title when he married Sophie. Sophie and Edward went on a full-blown PR tour following Philip’s death where they talked openly about how they had the DoE title in the bag. Meanwhile, Charles actually inherited the DoE title and when he’s king, he will not give it to Edward. Charles is unhappy with the Wessexes’ gouche grief tour and he’s still holding on to 20-year-old resentments. Tom Sykes has a hilarious story about what all of this says about Charles and his pettiness. Some highlights:
Charles’ streamlined monarchy: In some quarters it was whispered that maybe too much wood had been cut. Over the past two years, there has been a perception that, far from the balcony at Buckingham Palace being in danger of imminent collapse, the army is looking a little thin. The received wisdom, post-Meghan and Harry, was that more, not fewer, royal bodies might actually be needed to plug the daily royal schedule of community-center visits and sports hall openings.
Buckingham Palace is pushing the Wessexes: This explains the subsequent pushing-forward by Buckingham Palace of Prince Edward and his wife, Sophie Wessex. Over the past two years, Charles’ younger brother—Edward is 57 and Charles is 72, and the two “barely know each other,” according to one source—and his wife have occupied an increasingly visible role. This new, higher profile crystallized on the occasion of the death of Prince Philip, when the couple were sent out to give a series of high-profile print and television interviews, which they conducted with aplomb. But if Queen Elizabeth was happy with their work, one man was less than thrilled.
A matter of personal pique for Charles. Prince Charles has long had the absolute minimum of regard for Edward and Sophie. If this sense of a jealous Prince Charles seems familiar, well, that is because it is. The writer Christopher Andersen, author of Diana’s Boys, told The Daily Beast: “Charles harbors varying degrees of resentment toward all three of his siblings—Anne, Andrew, and Edward—for the affection and attention that was lavished on them by their parents and denied him from the very beginning. On a certain level, Charles must also hate the fact that Edward and Sophie have been lauded for stepping up to fill in the void left by the departure of Harry and Meghan.”
Penny Junor says Charles has always been a jealous man: The author Penny Junor, who has written biographies of Charles and is close to his circle, told The Daily Beast that he had not only “struggled” with the popularity of his first wife, Princess Diana, but had also been jealous of his own sons when they attracted more limelight than him. She said: “Definitely, Charles used to feel threatened by his sons. Charles is a man who grew up being a star in his own firmament and it’s very hard to let someone else in on that stage to share the limelight. He found it very difficult with Diana, and he found it difficult when his sons started to become stars in their own right. He was an older man, they were younger and more photogenic with beautiful wives—and of course that is threatening.”
Tom Bower, author of Charles, Rebel Prince, on Charles’ prima donna behavior: “I find it bizarre that a 72-year-old man could be jealous of his younger brother, who does not have any public status whatsoever, who doesn’t offer a challenge, who is not political. Edward is a harmless soul, which makes it even more baffling why this has suddenly arisen. It’s actually symbolic of the palace in disarray. I find it unseemly and distasteful—and the palace should have stopped it… If you assume the story is true, Edward and Sophie have no way of countering it. I don’t think they are in a position to get the queen to override Charles.”
Uneasy lies the head: It bodes ill for the reign of King Charles III if he gets a reputation for breaking his word, especially given that it is an open secret that he has no intention of keeping his promise that Camilla will not officially be named queen. Untrustworthy kings do not inspire public allegiance.
Small & petulant: Christophe Andersen says: “Denying the Duke of Edinburgh title to Edward just makes him look small, petulant, and more than a little vindictive. It’s not a very good sign for the monarchy. Charles needs to appear more magnanimous if he has any hope of winning over his future subjects.”
I’ve always said that William is more like his father than his mother, and we see that again and again. William learned how to be a petty, vindictive, small, jealous a–hole from watching his father. William did the most to exile his only brother, while Charles took the scenic route, making sure that Edward and Sophie are punished at long last for sh-t they did twenty years ago. I mean… as I said, the Wessexes’ PR campaign was dumb and tacky and I honestly don’t blame Charles for shutting them down over that. But yeah, the other stuff is true too. He’s petty, jealous and small. Charles and William will be such sh-tty kings.
Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, WENN.
Good god, he reminds me of Donald Trump in that first photo.
Also: “aplomb?” I guess the Queen either missed their asinine Oprah “joke” or worse, actually enjoyed it.
Humpty Dumpy to me, in more ways than one. The photo choice is perfection. Dressed in finery with his fists balled up.
Sophie has been the one who does the foreign royalty events. If Charles means to cut them out, he really should start sending someone else to build relations abroad.
Yeah when it comes to going to weddings of the other royal families – Sophie and Edward are sent.
I suspect this might have been part of Sophie’s apparent coldness towards Meghan. At some point down the line, the Sussexes would have eventually been the designated BRF couple to send to the foreign royal events and I think Sophie knew it, and wasn’t happy at the idea of her and husband having to give that up.
@Sid, yes. That’s a good observation, I think. For someone like Sophie, who’s spent years building up her position in the RF, only to be told down the line that Charles will be streamlining the monarchy down to himself, his wife, and his children, at the expense of his siblings, must have been at least some part of the animosity for her. You can see some of Sophie’s uglier side coming through in this, which is different from the whole image of her being “above it all” and just soooooo diplomatic.
She also was in charge of keeping Ivanka away from the Queen during the state dinner. That sacrifice alone should be worthy of a title upgrade
He needs to send his actual heir and his wife to do the work. The Keens have not been building the connections they should have, a la Harry, and it’s about time that they step up. Other monarchy’s have a core groups of royals that do the work and do not the dozens of extended family that the Windsors have.
Sophie needs to earn her keep in her 150 room home – that is a lot to keep up. She’ll work for the rf and she doesn’t need a title upgrade to do it.
100% agree. They get to live in Bagshot for free so they should work.
Maybe it’s just me but having your merc go out and sh*t on brother seems like a bad play and a bit spoiled. It just seems easier to apply the same effort in actually convincing Charles directly.
100% agree. They get to live in Bagshot for free so they should work.
Maybe it’s just me but having your merc go out and sh*t on brother seems like a bad play and a bit spoiled. It just seems easier to apply the same effort in actually convincing Charles directly.
Can someone explain to explain to me why the Queen can’t just give the title to Edward if she wants him to have it?
Because she does not have the title at the moment. As the oldest son of the DoE, Charles inherited the title when his father passed – it did not revert to the crown (which is what will happen to York, for example, if Andrew passes with no sons). So Charles is the current DoE. When Charles becomes king, his titles merge with the crown and at that point the dukedom will be “available,” so to speak. But as it stands, the Queen cannot give the title to Edward because it is not hers to give.
(the queen is technically the dowager duchess of edinburgh though.)
All this makes sense, that means Edward was shafted by his parents from the get go. promising him something that was not theirs to give,
@Lili the statement at the time of the Wessex wedding said that he would be given the DoE title eventually and that Charles was in agreement with that.
So given that, it just makes Charles look all the more petty – by denying the title to Edward, he’d be going against his parents’ express wishes AND against what he already agreed to.
Thank you Becks1. I don’t care for Charles but this is clearly an attack on him. There is nothing he can do with the title at this moment…not a single thing!
The first son inherits. The title was Philip’s not the Queen’s so it went directly to Charles. When Charles is King, all of his titles will revert to the Crown for him to bestow.
the title is Charles, The queen/Phillip can’t promise the title to Edward,when it goes to the first born. why should Edward get it? If Charles had said 20 yrs ago to Edward at their wedding , when i inherit the title i will give it to Edward as a belated wedding present ,then that’s a different story. After the Queen dies and Charles becomes king ,I think the title goes back to the crown, and from there Charles and whoever else can make a decision,not use it on anyone or he can pass it on to William, when William becomes king he can pass on to George and so on, heir to first born. or they can change the rules of the title, that any royal can inherit the title. or change it to any child of the heir can inherit the title. which means the title can go to Louis one day .
Prince Charles inherited it directly from Philip as his eldest son, so it doesn’t belong to the Crown. Only when he becomes king can it be redistributed.
Because the title goes to the eldest son, and it’s one of his million other titles. I have only a faint idea of peerage so correct me if I’m wrong.. I had the same query as you.
Because it’s not hers to give. The title was Philip’s and the moment he died the title went to his eldest son: Charles. The agreement had always been that at the Queen’s death, when Charles ascends to the throne the titles that he has right now will return to the crown and only then can he give them out to other people give the dukedom of Edinburgh to his brother. While Wales, Cornwall, and all the other titles that usually are associated to the heir apparent will go to Baldy.
Thank you.
I wonder for HM and Philip discussed this with Charles prior to their announcement?
@Mac I would imagine they did discuss it because this exchange is what was reported before Edward’s wedding to Sophie. The official announcement said that Edward wouldn’t be getting a dukedom as was expected, but when the time came (when both his parents passed) he would get the dukedom of Edinburgh. Here is complete speculation from me: when Ed got married, two dukedoms were available that he could have gotten: Cambridge and Sussex. I wonder if Charles asked or convinced his parents to save those titles for his own kids and in exchange, he would grant Edward the Edinburgh title when he became king. Only that Charles and Edward weren’t expecting their parents to live for so long and Charles changed his mind along the way. It makes sense to me at least 😂
It’s clearly a jealousy issue but I can’t help but feel sorry for him. It doesn’t mean I think he’s making the right choices but he’s been really f***ed up by all that he’s been through. I know it’s an unpopular opinion, but I also feel the same way about William. He is another one who makes poor choices and has got a lot of stuff to work through.
Yes its almost like they’ve been damaged by generational trauma. Oh wait……
Charles is a man of a certain age and generation so it makes sense that he’ll never change. William however is a young man who works with mental health. He could pursue therapy but he doesn’t because he chooses to surround himself with yes men who blow smoke up his arse and won’t ever cross him.
I have sympathy for the childhood William had and it explains his actions and thinking but it does not justify his behaviour and the harm and damage he’s caused his brother and sister-in-law. He’s had ample opportunity to change. People need to accept that he doesn’t and he’s acting like this because he wants to.
I think it takes a certain amount of confidence within yourself to be able to step back and have a good hard look at the way you think and behave. Also a good support system while you go through the process. I’m not sure William has either and as you say, he’s surrounded himself by yes men.
@GraceB: While I admit that the monarchy is a terrible support system, again, he chooses not to find a system outside of it to support him. He chose to marry a woman who would never outshine him and would stay silent while he does whatever whenever. It also helps that her family literally kisses the ground he walks on and will never challenge him and even indulges him (Carole). His friends are also aristocrats who don’t see beyond their lives and again, he’s surrounded by yes men that he employs.
I know it’s not easy to go to therapy and it can take years (which it did with his brother), but at a certain point, if William wanted to, he would. He doesn’t want to do better.
You mean William has made cursory statements about mental health. There is no evidence at all that William has done any substantial work with mental health. He has shown up to events are waved his hands, pretended to listen, then gone home. It’s an insult to people who work with mental health to say that William ranks among them.
@lanne @Sofia
William has never worked in mental health. He’s not even mental health adjacent, at most he has attended a few events.
Assuming Charles outlives his mother, there will be hell to pay when Charles and William are in charge of all the money. Harry was very smart to get his family away from that mess and everyone else in that family should be planning their respective exits, not trying to cling onto their little slice of the Lancaster/Cornwall pie.
Yes – Charles is capable of anything. I don’t get the feeling William really cares. If the “photogenic” Lady Louise can do the bread and butter events, he’ll go for it.
I have written before on this topic. But, I think Charles will dither on giving William the PoW title. Charles will make Will & Kate sweat. And, it won’t surprise me if the compromise is Kate can’t be PoW, but use the style Duchess of Cornwall. Petty revenge for what he through.
I am hoping that the Welsh protest against giving of the title like they did when Charles got it.
It’s interesting this is all coming at a time when it really drives home everything Harry said. These people are not a healthy functioning family.
Also, not great for the entire Windsor fam for the tabloids to start complaining about other members of the family besides Harry and Meghan. If William thinks this is helping him, he is again sorely mistaken and thinking very short term.
“It’s interesting this is all coming at a time when it really drives home everything Harry said. These people are not a healthy functioning family.”
The happiness of the Queen after burying the albatross of a cheating husband says everything.
Does anyone else still want to accuse Harry of lying for saying his father cut him off and snatched his security, lol? Where are Penny Junor and Katie Nichols now? If vindictive and mean was a person, it would be Charles. And this was the man who was crying about The Crown making him look bad.
Exactly. And that Diana was “paranoid.” Nope – Charles IS that petty and punishing.
Not to mention dumb as rocks. To spend a year complaining that the Crown is fiction and then turn around and act EXACTLY like what you’re complaining you’re not.
Real heads of state suck it up and make compromises with people and they don’t personally like because of the bigger picture all the time. Not very kingly Chuck!!
Exactly. I honestly don’t feel bad for the Wessexes, but I want Charles to be called out for his pettiness and vindictiveness. He plays the long game and waits out his scandals but continues to be awful to others along the way. As much as people want to remember him for his (hypocritical) contributions towards sustainability and youth programmes, I hope he will also be remembered for being a shitty husband, father, brother and grandfather.
Long may the dysfunction of the House of Windsor continue to spill into the public sphere. Thank God, H&M got going while the going was good.
I’m not surprised Charles acts so odd, strange and rude. He is literally the product of generations of inbreeding. Why would you be a normal human?! The “marrying cousins” only stopped with him and Diana having their boys. These Charles stories don’t shock me.
It’s actually not generations of inbreeding and the “marrying cousins” stopped with Queen Victoria. The Queen Mother, although she was from British nobility, was an outsider and the Queen and Prince Philip were only distantly related via Queen Victoria. No, he’s just a spoiled, self-pitying, jealous, racist twit…characteristics which he’s passed on to William.
They are second cousins on one side and third cousins on another side. I really don’t consider that distantly related!
I understand why Charles is reluctant to hand the title to Edward and give it to Louis instead but in 50 years time, Louis will be a similar age to Edward and in a similar position. George and Charlotte will have had kids and maybe their kids will have been married and thinking about having kids. Louis will be down the line of succession. So you’ll end up in a situation where a Dukedom is going to be inherited by someone who doesn’t have a HRH or is in the main line.
But why does that really matter? The people involved will still be just as close a descendent of Prince Philip as the ones who are higher up in succession. Thinking that only those who end up with the golden ring matter is the problem with this family.
I agree.
There was a scene in The Crown where Andrew and Edward are in the drawing room or something of the palace waiting for Andrew and Fergie’s wedding to start, when Charles comes in with all his medals etc., pours a drink and starts talking about how as his two boys grow and have children, etc., his younger siblings will matter less and less.
Andrew says to Edward after Charles leaves “did he really just say that to me on my wedding day?” and Edward says “that really was impressively cunty.”
I’m no fan of Andrew but Charles is a cunt (in the British sense, you know, I don’t use that word in the American sense).
Edward is Philip’s SON, for Pete’s sake. The idea that the title should go to one of his great-grandsons instead is…..well, very Royal, I guess. But still messed up. They’re a Monarchy but they’re also a family. Philip wanted Edward to have it.
It’s a screwy system and I’m glad Harry is out of it.
@Ann, it’s just an extended argument between fathers insisting that the title should go to THEIR son, really. I mean, why Philip ever counted on the notion that Charles would actually hold up his end of the bargain down the line is just beyond me.
Out of everyone in the family, he seemed like someone who had the measure of who each member was. He should have known that Charles, who is perennially jealous, but also constantly pissed off that he missed out on both of his parents’ love and affection, would have misgivings about the fact that his father wanted to pass down his title (which he was known by and the recognizable branding of his legacy) to his youngest and the more lower ranked son.
For someone like Charles, who already feels like he has so little from his parents with which to bond over, I imagine that it felt like being dunked in cold water. And it’s to Philip’s extreme detriment that he never bothered to build up a proper relationship with his son so that this resentment wouldn’t be an issue. There have long been rumours that Edward and Anne are Philip’s favourite, while Andrew is the Queen’s. If that’s true, then it adds another layer to this already complicated parent-son relationship, and it doesn’t surprise me that Charles is being a little b-tch about handing it over. But the fact is that the real person he should have taken this up with is Philip. Not Edward, who’s not responsible for his parents being the way they are.
Tom Bower is a known hater of Charles but he actually makes a point. I always believed this story was put out there either by Charles himself to shut down the Wessexes PR and test the water or by William to make his father looks bad.
I started wondering if Charles doesn’t want to give Edward the title partly so he would not look bad if he also doesn’t give titles to the sussex kids. Then he could say see it’s not racism since I even cut off my own brother. Just streamlining the monarchy here; nothing racist about it. Not sure if that theory works but maybe? Either way, Charles looks mad petty. Honestly, at this point, he should just own it and make it his thing. King Charles the Petty King.
I doubt it. I don’t think Charles would put sh-t like this out into the world, actually. I think that this was entirely the Wessexes who are pulling the strings in the press. They know how it’ll make Charles look to the public, and they are going all in.
Huh, so you think the wessexes are actually leaking that Charles does not want to give him the title to make him look bad and to possibly gin up their public support? That’s an idea.
I can go and sell myself as a royal comentator now, because these a**holes just came to the exact same conclusions I did last time we discussed this subject: Charles will lose at any level in this fight . He is not saving money really, so the plebes will not care; he is breaking aristocrat code once again, which will not endear him to nobles and other houses of Europe and he is setting his own House on fire by basically telling his siblings ” I dont care for you, so nobody will”
This slimmed down Monarchy just looks more and more like a way of Charles getting his hand on ALL the money and simply cutting diwn the bread and butter to a minimum.
What is going on, really? is this Charles just being Charles, comfotable in his unlovable persona, or is William using the Press to amplify Charles mistakes and make he seem the better option? Because they BOTH want the same thing ( streamlined monarchy) but for different reasons ( Charles because he wants to make it seem more “modern”, whatever that is, and William because he is too lazy to care about other people, let be the plebes who would like to have a royal open their Fairs, or his relatives )
I have a sort of idea that Charles is either trying to be the last king by consolidating all the money and titles and then running the monarchy into the ground so that it won’t go to William, who I’m sure he thinks will screw it all up anyways so he’d rather have it go out with him as the last, actually competent monarch who helped transition the UK into republicanism…. OR maybe he’s just trying to slim it down as much as possible and leave it in a much smaller state so that William has less to inherit. Like he knows that William isn’t going to be able to handle all the various charities, and patronages, and working royals, and half working royals, because William is lazy and stupid, so Charles is acting as the transition monarch, making the whole institution smaller and more manageable so that William doesn’t look like such an idiot when he inherits a bunch of balls in the air that he can’t actually juggle.
Thing is, for ALL the blustering of a “slimmed down monarchy”, NO ONE is addressing a “slimmed down Sovereign Grant”! NO ONE (press, govt., and certainly not Prince Petty) is saying the budget for that is going to be cut. So it just seems like Charles is going for less pockets to put the £££££s into.
Doesn’t that imply a lack of jealousy on Charles’s part? Does he really care that much how William looks, especially considering the stunts Willie has been pulling for the past 4-5 years? Charles is petty and vindictive, would he really bother to make life easier for the William he’s in constant competition with?
Lady D, I’m seeing it more as:
Option A) Charles cares more about himself than the monarchy or anything else. He wants to be the guy who leads the UK to become a republic. Last King, so modern, big change, textbook worthy change. Also, ha ha William, you suck and don’t get to play Ruler of the Empire cosplay. If he knows it’s going to end eventually, he wants it to end how he wants it to end and earn the historical goodwill of being the guy who worked towards that goal, rather than fight it.
Option B) Charles cares more about the monarchy as institution than William/anything else. He makes things smaller and technically easier for William so he can’t screw it up, piss everyone off, and end the monarchy in a tire fire. But with this smaller monarchy with less moving parts, comes way less power and prestige. Charles already got rid of most of the other royals so William can’t boss them all around and hold money/titles over their heads. Charles already got rid of most of the projects and patronages, and possibly set up some kind of lasting precedent for the management of the money/land that is left so William doesn’t have a lot to actually do (so he can’t screw it up due to laziness or malice), but he also doesn’t get to be seen as doing so much and being so dutiful. Charles doesn’t work hard to make sure that the commonwealth and other UK countries stay, so now William rules over a much smaller and insular empire, with less places to take international “work” vacations disguised as tours, and now William has less global cache and a smaller profile/fan base.
I’m seeing both of these options as a way to screw William because Charles thinks that William is lazy and stupid and he’s jealous and vindictive about the golden boy image that William had for so long and the constant press coverage the Cambridges receive despite Charles knowing that the Cambs don’t deserve it and he (Charles) does. So while option B does technically make things easier for William, it’s not to be nice to William. It’s the lasting consequence of Charles thinking that no one can do this King job even remotely as well as he can. Option A is also basically all about Charles’ ego and belief that he is better than anyone else in his family, including all of his heirs.
It’s like he thinks it’s still the 1700’s and he can do whatever he wants, acts however he wants, and behead people whenever he wants. Hopefully this all ends when they remove public funding for this insane group.
Harry said it in the Oprah interview that there was jealousy from the family after the Australia tour. I have no difficulty in believing that Charles is jealous of his siblings’ close relationship with their parents and the popularity of his sons. I don’t understand why the royalists have a hard time believing that Charles will not give the DoE title to Edward when he’s not going to give his grandchildren titles after he becomes King.
On the one hand, it’s terrible to grow up feeling that your parents have no affection for you. (even if that isn’t true, the perception of neglect can traumatize a child).
On the other hand, his siblings, his late wife, and his sons bear absolutely no responsibility for it. They do not deserve the revenge.
This is a strongly worded public rebuke from the establishment, however: they’re telling Charles he might become too unpopular to support.
The death of Philip seems to have opened up a power struggle, or some festering wounds. I’m not sure the monarchy will last beyond Charles (sorry Carole and Gary).
I think by inertia, the fact the Tories are/ will be ahead of government for some time and the aristocrats not having much choice but to continue to uphold the system that provides them with all their wealth and Power, Charles Will be King. But as soon as the Queen dies, countries will start leaving the commonwealth in droves, William will continue to do the most damage by pulling the less amount of work and Charles will keep cutting his nose to spite his face. So, IF William ever sits that Throne, it will be very uncomfortable and for not that long of time.
Where there is will ( no pun intended), there is a way.
Tricky question but who will make the less horrible King, Charles or William?
Charles.
William is a Tory-aligned reactionary who expects to enforce his will and desires with an iron fist, no matter how egregious or unreasonable they may seem. He is extremely friendly, almost too friendly, to the Tory party, particularly individuals who almost exclusively seem to be Brexiteers or welfare-cutters. That says a lot about his politics.
Charles, at the very least, in spite of the horrendous way he handles his public life, makes the smallest of pretenses towards slightly more liberal values in his politics. I have a hunch that he is actually not very popular among the right-wing political institutions of the country, who have long seen him as too soft, especially in the aftermath of Brexit, which I don’t think Charles supports. I think the powers-that-be see William as a monarch who will be much more amenable to their policy measures, who can be relied upon to symbolize the sort of British society that they wish to create (overwhelmingly white, “middle-class”, with no single parents in sight).
Comparing the two, it’s definitely going to be William who I think will pose serious constitutional problems to Britain in the long run, rather than Charles.
American person asking….Won’t this be a non issue if Scotland holds another referendum to split from the UK (in light of Brexit etc)?
Scotland would still have Elizabeth as Head of State, so the title would technically still be there.
Unless Scotland becomes a Republic right after their independence!
Since we’re discussing titles here, I have some questions.
1. As we know, Harry is HRH The Duke of Sussex and his heir apparent is Archie. What will be Lili’s title?
2. One user on Twitter said that if Harry renounced his dukedom it’ll automatically go to Archie and he can’t do anything about it till he’s 18. Is that true?
3. If some unfortunate incident happened and the throne goes to Harry, can he say No thanks, and what of his kids?
1) As it currently stands, Archie is Lord Archie, and Lili is Lady Lilibet. When Charles becomes king, he’ll be HRH Prince Archie and she’ll be HRH Princess Lilibet. She has no claim to any of Harry’s other titles though. Archie could technically go by one of the lesser titles.
2) I don’t know about this. I don’t think he’s renouncing it though so its a non-issue IMO.
3) Harry can abdicate if the throne comes to him (if something tragic happens to all the Cambridges, for example) but I do not think he can abdicate on behalf of Archie or Lili.
1. If they do not become HRH Prince Archie and HRH Princess Lilibet when Charles is King, Lili will go by Lady Lilibet. She does not inherit a title. I’m not entirely sure if Archie could give her his subsidiary titles to make her Countess Dumbarton or Baroness of Kilkeel.
2. Technically, yes. But if Harry were to reject his dukedom, I doubt he would have Archie take up the title as a minor.
3. Yes, he can abdicate on his behalf. He could abdicate on his minor children’s behalf as well but not if they are adults. The problem is if the Crown were to land on Harry’s lap, they would make it very difficult for him to abdicate. It’s not just the Press and The Firm, it would be Parliament involved as well (I’m sure they do not want a King Andrew).
“I’m not entirely sure if Archie could give her his subsidiary titles to make her Countess Dumbarton or Baroness of Kilkeel.”
No he cannot. The only way Lili can inherit Harry’s titles if Archie died heirless if if the letters patent to Harry’s titles were reissued. Archie would not have the power to ‘give’ over his titles- unlike in Spain
I was very surprised when they didn’t make his titles to heirs male and female though
@Original Penguin thanks for expanding! It is definitely a shame that women cannot inherit their father’s nobility titles even when they are firstborn (see Lady Louise of Wessex, the York sisters, Princess Anne). I think allowing for the line of succession to not be male-heir first was a step in the right direction but one made far too late.
1. Lili is currently Lady Lili but as things stand with the letters patent would become Princess Lili when Charles is king.
2. If Harry renounced his title- I think it would still be only inherited by Archie on his death. See the Earls of Home for an example
3. I don’t think he can abdicate on behalf of his offspring, only himself. The only way the children can be disinherited is by writ of attainder (see George, Duke of Clarence)
Regarding question 2, I believe they are referring to disclaiming a title.
Unfortunately, one who holds a titles may only disclaim a title if it is within one year of them inheriting it OR if it is before their 22nd birthday if they inherited said title while under the age of 21. When one disclaims ones’ title the title goes into abeyance for the duration of ones’ lifetime, and on the event of ones’ death the inheritance of the title continues as though nothing unusual had ever happened.
This process is generally used so that someone who holds a title may divest themselves of their technical right to sit in the House of Lords and allow them to run for election in a seat in the House of Commons.
IF Harry were still eligible to disclaim his titles (which he is not) then Archie wouldn’t inherit them until Harry dies. For more details see the UK’s Peerage Act of 1963.
I find it amusing that government sits around and makes up laws for titles.
In Charles defense, if he is petty he learnt it all from his mama.
I will not fault Charles for not giving it to them. I don’t hear any of these people calling him petty and petulant and childish when he wanted to change the rules to deny Harry biracial children their birthright. Do excuse me if I don’t give a f if Eddie everyone has been through the same thing in regards to Meghan racist bullying and ms. Sophie people only know Oprah for talk shows.Yes these two should start looking for paid work and stop sponging off the tax payers. Willy is his fathers child . I don’t like any of these people except Harry. He is the true prince in my heart and eyes and I am so glad he took his family out of that vipers nest of backstabbing, jealous, petty , incandescent family of racist losers.
If Charles’ behaviour is learned, then he learned that sh!t from the Queen Mother. By all accounts she was the OG petty Betty and really the one who favoured Charles.
@Over it Exactly I don’t know why there is all this outrage over Edward and this damn title. Nobody needs to be crying a river for Edward and Sophie. And miss me with the “disrespecting the queen and Philip” bs. William and Charles disrespect her in the daily and nobody has a problem. Everyone was all for breaking the rules when Charles was going to snatch Archie and Lili Diana’s titles. The lack of concern for the Sussex kids “birthright” is what probably gave Charles the idea to withhold Edward’s. (And it isn’t even his birthright.) The Wessexes will be fine and they should focus on how they are going to afford their life when the queen dies rather than if they are getting some title.
100% Queen Mum.
Thank you JT , thank you.
I’m personally with Charles on this one. Don’t give ’em nada, Chucky!!! Give the DoE title to Archie as a peace offering. Let’s see how incandescent with rage Willy can really get :))
I am with you on this.
A highly-followed Twitter deranger says Charles is keeping it for Harry when he “runs back with his tail between his legs” well then I guess DoE title will cease to exist 🤣🤣
Archie will inherit his father’s Dukedom.
62 and sunny in Montecito with an expected high of 78 degrees today.
Imagining Harry doing his morning meditation on the balcony overlooking is palatial estate. Taking a deep breath of toxic free air.
Snuffles- yup!
Harry: *reads article on dad taking uncle Ed’s title.* *yawns* Hey Meg! I’m going to the beach to walk the dog.
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again “it’s lovely to see everyone getting exactly what they deserve”!!
Chuck knows his dad wanted Eddie to have the title, then James. It was the deal for Eddie not getting a different Dukedom upon marriage.
Much as the Wessexes suck as people, Eddie probably really wanted his dad’s title, or he would have gotten a different Dukedom already. I feel for him, having older bro take that away. It was a wedding gift for goodness sake.
So yes, Charles looks petty. But isn’t he savvy enough to understand that? I wonder so much if this is a play by Will to smear Chuck, or maybe force Chuck to renege on Phik’s gift to Eddie.
Yeah I don’t understand why Charles doesnt realize how petty this makes him look. It was announced at the time of their wedding that he would given DoE, and he has been the president of the DoE awards for a few years now.
I’m not sure what is going on here, but I am sort of on board with the idea that this is coming from William to make Charles look bad, hence that story last week about how William wants Edward to be DoE – to make William look like the bigger person in comparison to Charles.
You’re forgetting that Charles is a man who said he wanted to be his mistresses tampon. It’s impossible for him to sink lower than that.
Same family where H&M’s wedding gift was a house they could never own and yet ended up paying for renovations. Did the royal “experts” sympathize with H&M and call that petty?
The entire family is petty, spiteful, and hateful. Who cares if Charles is continuing in the family tradition? He’ll be king regardless; that’s the point. They aren’t a real family, they are a business. A poorly run and shoddy business, but it is what it is. If Charles is withholding it, knowing it will “disrespect” the queen and get backlash, than he probably has a reason for it.
The queen made promises that weren’t hers to make. Edward turned down a dukedom and now it’s decades later and things change. The last person on-earth I feel sorry for is Edward not upgrading his title. Boo hoo, dry your tears in your 120 room mansion.
Lizzie, well I read he announcement for E’s wedding. Buckingham Palace added in a statement at the time 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 held now by Prince Philip eventually reverts to the Crown.” I personally don’t care what E is called, but I do think honor is important. It seems that PC had agreed to this, so he needs to determine whether he will honor his agreement or not.
Well, didn’t KP put out something that Harry had supposedly agreed to that he said was false? Maybe Liz and Phil put this out and expected Charles to just fall in line with it.
wrong spot
I’m convinced there is an underlying story as to why Edward didn’t get his own dukedom In the first place and that current events are connected to that. IMO. The DOE title was a cover story. Think about it he was promised a title that he couldn’t get until both his mother and father were dead. If something happens to Charles before the Queen; the title goes to William. Never mind the fact that the Queen could live another 10 years. They knew it was a convoluted, complicated set up. Also, I don’t think that Charles would even consider this if he didn’t have the Queen’s approval. What’s been missing from these stories is anything about the Queen’s reaction. If there was even a hint of disapproval on her part the media would have written that so clearly there isn’t. She may have been fine with it going to Edward in 1999 but perhaps she feels differently now. Personally, I don’t think Edward should get the title. It is too closely identified with Philip. It should be either be permanently in abeyance or reserved for the next King Consort. If it goes to Edward then in inherited down his family line which would essentially turn it into a subsidiary title. Is Charles a petty, jealous man. Yes. But there is also legitimate reason to critically assess the implications of the DOE going to Edward. The fact that the media seems so concerned about this and seems so firmly on the Wessexes side tells me that they were hoping for the DOE title to increase the Wessexes status in the hopes of weaponizing their clear cooperation with the media. I think Charles saw this and decided to let the Wessexes and the media know that their status depends on him. So they must tread carefully. Also, their recent interviews backfired for them and the BRF. So they couldn’t even get that right.
Possibly they did not know if they could trust Sophie (and considering the subsequent fake sheikh scandal, they were right to have at least some doubts) and they didn’t want to hand her a duchess title: blonde!fakeDiana! Duchess! with a PR company could have been worse than Fergie.
They are still right not to trust her, imho. She’s loyal to Edward, but will she be loyal to Charles?
@Catherine This is what I think. There must be some reason why Charles might be holding back on giving Edward the DOE title and it has nothing to do with a twenty year old promise and a title that wasn’t the queen’s to give. The queen is probably aware of Charles’ plan and I don’t blame him for it. I personally think the title is too big for Edward anyway and I don’t think he was the profile to carry it. All of the outrage over this is strange considering how Edward is barely memorable anyway. Saving it for the next King Consort is a good idea and it’ll maintain the “prestige” so to speak.
Edward could have been a duke at his wedding but turned it down to be Earl of Wessex.
https://www.express.co.uk/news/royal/1333956/Prince-William-title-Duke-of-Cambridge-Prince-Edward-Earl-of-Wessex-royal-family
I like the idea floated above about having the title held in abeyance until there is another Male consort. At least that would after George is King and enough distance from Philip to be dignified.
This story is either from TOB or Edward & Sophie clawing for that title. I believe it is completely made up to have Charles look bad….
100% agree. I think The Wessexes found out they weren’t getting Edinburgh and this is them forcing Charles to publicly declare that he’ll give it to them. It’s a Hail Mary but it’s their best chance.
I bet he is small. LOL
I find it so interesting that the royal reporting press is still not at all wary of going hard on Charles, calling him petty, and jealous, and a bad brother/son/dad/husband/everything. He’s going to be King pretty soonish. The way that they revere the Queen and use her as the perfect shining star of the monarchy who can never be criticized, a stick to beat everyone else with and keep everyone in line and loyal to the monarchy, is what keeps basically everyone in the world on board with the UK monarchy and commonwealth. They have built this woman up so much as the monarch, that even those who don’t agree with monarchies on principle are not willing to get rid of this one because they don’t want to upset the woman that they respect and revere so much.
What is going to happen to the monarchy when it’s headed by a man that the press has been calling petulant and vindictive, sly and horrid, jealous and mean for over half a century? Do they plan to change their coverage of him once he’s made King? Are they going to pretend that the anointing actually magically changed him into a good and respectable man, the perfect King, a beloved symbol of monarchy in the UK?
And what about William? His press isn’t that great either, despite the attempted embiggening over the last couple of years. It was pretty bad before Meghan, and it seems to be slowly getting rather bad again as William can no longer keep up his end of the silent contract. William is a walking scandal. He has so many secrets and skeletons in the closet and he has no redeeming qualities that balance them out, unlike his father who at least worked hard and often.
Can a monarchy survive for decades in an increasingly republican society, when the next two monarchs are not beloved, revered, respected, and do not have the press 100% on their side (and not just half heartedly covering up their mistakes, but writing about them as if they’re literal saints of England)? What is the plan here?
I really love this flood of dumb petty stories about royals who don’t live in California. Please let them continue to eat each other for many years to come 🙏
The BRF needs relatives that are willing to work and do the public showings otherwise, they are all going to be unemployed!
Charles and William are completely clueless as to how close to the end of The Monarchy they are unless they modernize and revamp.
Why is he being such a control freak about the titles and money?
PC and TQ are extremely wealthy, start handing out some cash and keep your jobs going.
In 15 years no one over a certain age will give one hot damn about The Firm except those making $$ off of it.
Read the damn room. Outdated jerk.
Well it’s nice to read about royal beef that doesn’t involve Harry and Meghan. I don’t feel strongly about Edward and Sophie either way. I know Edward dabbled in theater and Sophie had some kind of PR career when they first got married but they had a few scandals that ended their careers and them became full time royals. I do think it’s a douchebag move to not give Edward the Duke of Edinburgh title if it was promised to him, regardless of the way title inheritance works. Sure, Charles might have inherited the title now due to laws of the heir getting everything. But it looks especially bad since the Palace went out if its way to make an official announcement about it when Edward and Sophie got married. This wouldn’t be such a huge story if the official statement hadn’t been made, but it was and it just makes Charles look really bad.
I will laugh so hard if Edward and Sophie quit being full time royals lol. William and Kate will be forced to work even more, imagine the horror. It wouldn’t be such a huge story but it would be great to see Edward and Sophie do a tell-all interview too. I know it won’t happen but I can dream.
I bet it will depend on how much money the Queen leaves them and how many strings are attached, lol. If she leaves them enough cash, then its “Hello Oprah!” Seriously though, the Wessexes are between a rock and a hard place unless Sophie inherits money too. Some stories say her father owned a chain of auto businesses, some say he was an executive but either way, its probably not royal money.
This headline can be read as a statement of fact.
I keep going back to the official statement during Edward’s wedding that has been shared here several times in the last week. The statement said the queen, prince Philip and Charles agreed that the title should go to Edward when the time comes and it reverts to the crown. Call it word semantics but the statement said should go to Edward. It didn’t say it will go to Edward. Granted perhaps Edward was told differently (he sure acts like it) but saying something should happen isn’t guarantee that it will happen. I should lose 20 pounds and I should sleep 8 hours every night but it’s not a given.
Charles really is a nasty old woman. To Hell With All Of Them.
The Wessexes are making an unseemly spectacle. Charles isn’t the only one with “Wessex” fatigue. You would think Sophie is the widow with the way she has been carrying on. Can they not even wait a year before throwing a public tantrum about not getting a Dukedom?