The 'Duke of Edinburgh' is a
dukedom associated with
Edinburgh,
Scotland. There have been three creations since 1726. The current holder is
Prince Philip, the husband of and royal consort to
Queen Elizabeth II.
History of title
The dukedom was first created in
July 26,
1726, in the
Peerage of Great Britain. The title was bestowed by King
George I on his grandson
Prince Frederick Lewis, who also became
Prince of Wales the following year. Upon Frederick's death, the title was inherited by his son Prince George. When Prince George became
King George III, the dukedom "merged into
the crown," and ceased to exist.
King George III revived the title on
November 19,
1764 for his younger brother, Prince William of Wales, the full form of the title being "
Gloucester and Edinburgh". The title passed to the Duke of Gloucester and Edinburgh's only son, William Frederick, who died without a male heir, causing the title to become extinct.
Queen
Victoria created the title on
24 May 1866 for her second son
Prince Alfred, this time in the
Peerage of the United Kingdom. Alfred died without a male heir in
1900.
The title was created a fourth time by King
George VI in 1947 for his future son-in-law
Lt. Philip Mountbatten. Philip married
Princess Elizabeth the following day, and became the
Prince Consort in 1952. After her marriage but before her accession, Elizabeth was known as the Duchess of Edinburgh...
Future Dukes
It was announced in 1999, at the time of the wedding of
Prince Edward, the Earl of Wessex, the youngest son of Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip, that he would eventually follow his father as Duke of Edinburgh.
[1] However, the process by which this might happen is not simple, and will almost certainly not involve Edward directly inheriting the title from his father. Like any normal dukedom, the present Dukedom of Edinburgh passes to the heirs-male of the first duke, and Edward is currently only fifth in this line of succession, following his two older brothers and two of his nephews.
Rather, when the present duke dies, the dukedom will be inherited by his eldest son,
Charles, Prince of Wales (or his heir, if he is deceased). If Charles is not yet king when this occurs, he would add "Duke of Edinburgh, Earl of Merioneth and Baron Greenwich" to his own
list of titles. Only after Charles (or his heir) has both inherited the title of Duke of Edinburgh ''and'' ascended the throne would the present creation merge in the crown.
Presuming that there is no intention to call a fourth creation of the Dukedom into being while the third remains active, then, Edward will not be created Duke of Edinburgh until after the death of both his parents. At that point in time the monarch of the day (although in no way legally bound to do so) will presumably carry out the announced scheme.
Dukes of Edinburgh, first Creation (1726)
subsidiary titles:
Marquess of the Isle of Ely;
Earl of Eltham;
Viscount Launceston;
Baron Snowdon
★ HRH
Prince Frederick Louis, Duke of Edinburgh (
1707-
1751)
★ HRH
Prince George, Duke of Edinburgh (
1738-
1820) (became King in 1760)
Dukes of Gloucester and Edinburgh (1764)
subsidiary title:
Earl of Connaught (in the
Peerage of Ireland)
★ HRH
Prince William Henry, Duke of Gloucester and Edinburgh (
1743-
1805)
★ HRH
Prince William Frederick, Duke of Gloucester and Edinburgh (
1776-
1834)
Dukes of Edinburgh, second Creation (1866)
subsidiary titles:
Earl of Kent;
Earl of Ulster
★ HRH
Prince Alfred, Duke of Edinburgh (
1844-
1900)
Dukes of Edinburgh, third Creation (1947)
subsidiary titles:
Earl of Merioneth,
Baron Greenwich
★ HRH The
Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh (b.
1921)
See also
★
Edinburgh
★
Duke of Albany
★
Duke of Cambridge
★
Duke of Clarence
★
Duke of Connaught
★
Duke of Cumberland
★
Duke of Gloucester
★
Duke of Kent
★
Duke of York
★
Prince of Wales
★
The Duke of Edinburgh's Award
★
The Black Adder, for a fictional Duke of Edinburgh
External links
★
HRH The Duke of Edinburgh on Burke's Peerage
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