Duke of Edinburgh, named after the capital city of

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...

, is a

substantive title A substantive title, in the United Kingdom, is a title of nobility which is owned in its own right, as opposed to titles shared among cadets, borne as a courtesy title by a peer's relatives, or acquired through marriage. Current monarchies * ...

that has been created four times since 1726 for members of the

British royal family The British royal family comprises Charles III and other members of his family. There is no strict legal or formal definition of who is or is not a member, although the Royal Household has issued different lists outlining who is considere ...

. It does not include any territorial landholdings and does not produce any revenue for the title-holder. The current holder, Prince Edward, was created duke in 2023 on his 59th birthday by his eldest brother, King

Charles III Charles III (Charles Philip Arthur George; born 14 November 1948) is King of the United Kingdom and the 14 other Commonwealth realms. Charles was born at Buckingham Palace during the reign of his maternal grandfather, King George VI, and ...

. The dukedom had previously been granted to their father, then Philip Mountbatten, on the day of his marriage to then-Princess Elizabeth, the future Queen

Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 19268 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. ...

. Upon Philip's death, the title was inherited by Charles and held by him until Elizabeth died and Charles became king, at which time the title reverted to

the Crown The Crown is a political concept used in Commonwealth realms. Depending on the context used, it generally refers to the entirety of the State (polity), state (or in federal realms, the relevant level of government in that state), the executive ...

1726 creation

The title was first created in the

Peerage of Great Britain The Peerage of Great Britain comprises all extant peerages created in the Kingdom of Great Britain between the Acts of Union 1707 and the Acts of Union 1800. It replaced the Peerage of England and the Peerage of Scotland, but was itself repla ...

on 26 July 1726 by King George I, who bestowed it on his grandson Prince Frederick, who subsequently became

Prince of Wales Prince of Wales (, ; ) is a title traditionally given to the male heir apparent to the History of the English monarchy, English, and later, the British throne. The title originated with the Welsh rulers of Kingdom of Gwynedd, Gwynedd who, from ...

in 1728. 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 Snowdon (), or (), is a mountain in Snowdonia in North Wales. It has an elevation of above sea level, which makes it both the highest mountain in Wales and the highest in the British Isles south of the Scottish Highlands. Snowdon i ...

, 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 The Isle of Wight (Help:IPA/English, /waɪt/ Help:Pronunciation respelling key, ''WYTE'') is an island off the south coast of England which, together with its surrounding uninhabited islets and Skerry, skerries, is also a ceremonial county. T ...

, apparently erroneously. In later editions of the ''

London Gazette London is the capital and largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Western Europe, with a population of 14.9 million. London stands on the River Tha ...

'' the Duke is referred to as the Marquess of the

Isle of Ely The Isle of Ely () is a historic region around the city of Ely, Cambridgeshire, Ely in Cambridgeshire, England. Between 1889 and 1965, it formed an Administrative counties of England, administrative county. Etymology Its name has been said to ...

. Upon Frederick's death, the titles were inherited by his son Prince George. When Prince George became

King George III George III (George William Frederick; 4 June 173829 January 1820) was King of Great Britain and King of Ireland, Ireland from 25 October 1760 until his death in 1820. The Acts of Union 1800 unified Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain and ...

in 1760, the titles merged in the Crown and ceased to exist.

1866 creation

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in January 1901. Her reign of 63 year ...

re-created the title, this time in the

Peerage of the United Kingdom The Peerage of the United Kingdom is one of the five peerages in the United Kingdom. It comprises most peerages created in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland after the Acts of Union in 1801, when it replaced the Peerage of Great B ...

, on 24 May 1866 for her second son Prince Alfred, instead of

Duke of York Duke of York is a title of nobility in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. Since the 15th century, it has, when granted, usually been given to the second son of List of English monarchs, English (later List of British monarchs, British) monarchs ...

, the traditional title of the second son of the monarch. The subsidiary titles of the dukedom were

Earl of Kent The peerage title Earl of Kent has been created eight times in the Peerage of England and once in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. In fiction, the Earl of Kent is also known as a prominent supporting character in William Shakespeare's tragedy K ...

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 George VI (Albert Frederick Arthur George; 14 December 1895 – 6 February 1952) was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth from 11 December 1936 until Death and state funeral of George VI, his death in 1952 ...

, who bestowed it on his future son-in-law Philip Mountbatten, shortly before he married Princess Elizabeth. Subsequently, Elizabeth was styled "HRH The Princess Elizabeth,

Duchess of Edinburgh Duchess of Edinburgh is the principal Courtesy titles in the United Kingdom, courtesy title held by the wife of the Duke of Edinburgh. There have been five Duchesses of Edinburgh since the title's creation. Following the accession of Charles I ...

" until her accession in 1952. The subsidiary titles of the dukedom were Earl of Merioneth and

Baron Greenwich Baron Greenwich was a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom that has been created twice in British history. History Prior to the title's first creation in the Peerage of Great Britain in 1667, Charles II of England, King Charles II of E ...

, of Greenwich in the County of London; all these titles were in the

. 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 Greece George I ( Greek: Γεώργιος Α΄, romanized: ''Geórgios I''; 24 December 1845 – 18 March 1913) was King of Greece from 30 March 1863 until his assassination on 18 March 1913. Originally a Danish prince, George was born in Copenhage ...

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 Charles III (Charles Philip Arthur George; born 14 November 1948) is King of the United Kingdom and the 14 other Commonwealth realms. Charles was born at Buckingham Palace during the reign of his maternal grandfather, King George VI, a ...

, succeeded to all of his hereditary titles. 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 his wedding, that Prince Edward would eventually be granted the Dukedom of Edinburgh. The idea came from Prince Philip, who unexpectedly conveyed his wish to Edward and his fiancée,

Sophie Rhys-Jones Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh (born Sophie Helen Rhys-Jones; 20 January 1965) is a member of the British royal family. She is married to Prince Edward, Duke of Edinburgh, the youngest sibling of King Charles III. Sophie grew up in Brenchley, ...

, only days before their wedding. Edward, then seventh in the

line of succession to the British throne Succession to the British throne is determined by descent, sex, legitimacy, and religion. Under common law, the Crown is inherited by a sovereign's children or by a childless sovereign's nearest Collateral descendant, collateral line. The Bil ...

, had expected the dukedom to be granted to

Prince Andrew Prince Andrew, Duke of York (Andrew Albert Christian Edward; born 19 February 1960) is a member of the British royal family. He is the third child and second son of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, and a younger broth ...

, his older brother. Prince Philip died in April 2021. His dukedom was inherited by his eldest son, Prince Charles, before it merged in the Crown when Charles became king. The dukedom was then recreated for Prince Edward, in accordance with Prince Philip's wishes. Edward, who had by then dropped to the 14th place in the line of succession because of births of those higher in line, said in June that his being granted such a prestigious title was "a pipe dream of my father's". In July, ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British Newspaper#Daily, daily Newspaper#National, national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its modern name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its si ...

'' reported that Charles had decided not to give the title to his brother.

Clarence House Clarence House is a royal residence on The Mall in the City of Westminster, London. It was built in 1825–1827, adjacent to St James's Palace, for the royal Duke of Clarence, the future King William IV. The four-storey house is faced in ...

did not deny the reports, which were met with disapproval by commentators in light of Edward and Sophie's increased role in the monarchy after Andrew withdrew from public life and Charles's son

Prince Harry Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, (Henry Charles Albert David; born 15 September 1984) is a member of the British royal family. As the younger son of King Charles III and Diana, Princess of Wales, he is fifth in the line of succession to ...

and daughter-in-law Meghan quit royal duties. It was suggested in November 2022, shortly after Charles III ascended the throne, that Buckingham Palace was considering saving the dukedom for the new king's granddaughter Princess Charlotte of Wales in recognition of her high place in the line of succession and her being the first female member of the

royal family A royal family is the immediate family of monarchs and sometimes their extended family. The term imperial family appropriately describes the family of an emperor or empress, and the term papal family describes the family of a pope, while th ...

whose place in the line of succession cannot be superseded by a younger brother. The dukedom was bestowed on Prince Edward on the occasion of his 59th birthday on 10 March 2023. This fourth creation of the title is a

life peerage In the United Kingdom, life peers are appointed members of the peerage whose titles cannot be inherited, in contrast to hereditary peers. Life peers are appointed by the monarch on the advice of the prime minister. With the exception of the D ...

, meaning that Edward's son, James, will not inherit the dukedom (unlike Edward's other peerages). This allows Charles to honour his father's wish and reward his brother and sister-in-law while making it possible for Charles's heir apparent,

Prince William William, Prince of Wales (William Arthur Philip Louis; born 21 June 1982), is the heir apparent to the British throne. He is the elder son of King Charles III and Diana, Princess of Wales. William was born during the reign of his p ...

, to confer it on one of his children. According to Camilla Tominey of ''

The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a British daily broadsheet conservative newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed in the United Kingdom and internationally. It was found ...

'', there had been concerns about the effect that "giv(ing) the Edinburgh dukedom to someone descending fast down the royal ranking" would have on the

Scottish independence Scottish independence (; ) is the idea of Scotland regaining its independence and once again becoming a sovereign state, independent from the United Kingdom. The term Scottish independence refers to the political movement that is campaignin ...

debate. She proposes that "the prospect of Scottish independence now looking less likely" in the light of

Nicola Sturgeon Nicola Ferguson Sturgeon (born 19 July 1970) is a Scottish politician who served as First Minister of Scotland and Leader of the Scottish National Party (SNP) from 2014 to 2023. She has served as a member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) sin ...

's resignation made the conferral less of a risk.

Dukes of Edinburgh

First creation, 1726

Also: Marquess of the Isle of Ely, Earl of Eltham, Viscount Launceston and Baron Snowdon.

Second creation, 1866

Also:

and Earl of Ulster.

Third creation, 1947

Also: Earl of Merioneth and

Fourth creation, 2023

Family trees

Heraldry

Here are the achievements of the various Dukes of Edinburgh: File:Coat of Arms of William Augustus, Duke of Cumberland.svg, Coat of arms of Prince Frederick as Duke of Edinburgh File:Coat of arms of George William Frederick, Duke of Edinburgh.svg, Coat of arms of

George III George III (George William Frederick; 4 June 173829 January 1820) was King of Great Britain and King of Ireland, Ireland from 25 October 1760 until his death in 1820. The Acts of Union 1800 unified Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain and ...

as Duke of Edinburgh File:Coat of Arms of Alfred, Duke of Edinburgh.svg, Coat of arms of Prince Alfred as Duke of Edinburgh File:Coat of Arms of Philip, Duke of Edinburgh.svg, Coat of arms of

Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh (born Prince Philip of Greece and Denmark, later Philip Mountbatten; 10 June 19219 April 2021), was the husband of Queen Elizabeth II. As such, he was the consort of the British monarch from h ...

File:Coat of Arms of the Duke of Rothesay.svg, Coat of arms of

as Duke of Edinburgh File:Coat of Arms of Prince Edward, Duke of Edinburgh (Scotland).svg, Coat of arms of

Prince Edward, Duke of Edinburgh Prince Edward, Duke of Edinburgh (Edward Antony Richard Louis; born 10 March 1964) is a member of the British royal family. He is the youngest child of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, and the youngest sibling of King ...

In media

A fictional Duke of Edinburgh appears in the 1983

sitcom A sitcom (short for situation comedy or situational comedy) is a genre of comedy produced for radio and television, that centers on a recurring cast of character (arts), characters as they navigate humorous situations within a consistent settin ...

The Black Adder ''The Black Adder'' is the first series of the BBC sitcom ''Blackadder'', written by Richard Curtis and Rowan Atkinson, directed by Martin Shardlow and produced by John Lloyd. The series was originally aired on BBC1 from 15 June 1983 to 20 Ju ...

''.

Rowan Atkinson Rowan Sebastian Atkinson (born 6 January 1955) is an English actor, comedian and writer. He played the title roles in the sitcoms ''Blackadder'' (1983–1989) and '' Mr. Bean'' (1990–1995), and in the film series '' Johnny English'' (2003– ...

plays the title character, Prince Edmund, who is granted the title Duke of Edinburgh by his father, a fictitious King Richard IV.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Edinburgh Monarchy of the United Kingdom Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh Prince Edward, Duke of Edinburgh Charles III 1726 establishments in Great Britain 1866 establishments in the United Kingdom 2022 disestablishments in the United Kingdom 2023 establishments in the United Kingdom British and Irish peerages which merged in the Crown Noble titles created in 1726 Noble titles created in 1866 Noble titles created in 1947 Noble titles created in 2023