Prince Charles and Prince Edward in ‘royal rift’ over the Duke of Edinburgh title

Prince Charles and Prince Edward are allegedly in a royal rift over the Duke of Edinburgh title which has become available since the death of their father Prince Philip. 

• Prince Edward does not currently have a Dukedom and is titled the Earl of Wessex.
• It is thought that Prince Charles is responsible for his younger brother's lack of Duke title.
• In other royal news, Mike Tindall condemns Wembley violence as 'absolutely ridiculous' after breaking up bloody fight.

When Prince Edward married his wife Sophie, they were given the royal titles, the Earl of Wessex and the Countess of Wessex, respectively. 

However, it was announced ahead of their wedding that in time, Prince Edward would take on the Duke of Edinburgh title after his father passed. 

Since April 2021, when Prince Philip died at the age of 99, Prince Charles has inherited all of his father’s titles, including the Duke of Edinburgh title that was promised to Prince Edward.

A source close to Prince Charles told the Daily Mail, “The Prince [Charles] is the Duke of Edinburgh as it stands, and it is up to him what happens to the title. It will not go to Edward.”

Since his father's death, Prince Edward has spoken about his role as a trustee of the Duke of Edinburgh award scheme. A post on social media revealed, Prince Edward, the Earl of Wessex, plays a major role in continuing the legacy of this prestigious award. 

The post revealed, "The Earl plays an active role in the DofE as Chairman of the Trustees of The Duke of Edinburgh International Award, and Trustee of DofE UK."

Despite his active involvement in upholding the legacy of his father's title, some royal sources revealed that Prince Edward will not be getting the royal title for a far more important reason than simple sibling rivalry.

A source close to Prince Charles told the Daily Mail, "'It isn't just about whether Edward becomes Duke of Edinburgh by rite of passage or not, there have been discussions about the whole top tier of the Royal Family."

The source indicated that Prince Charles plans to slim down the royal family and relieve the taxpayer of paying for the upkeep of a large number of royal family members.

If Prince Edward received the Duke of Edinburgh title, this would then pass to his son James, Viscount Severn. 

Although Viscount Severn is only currently 13 years old, he's reportedly being raised to expect a life outside of royal duties. This suggests that Viscount Severn may have no use for the Duke of Edinburgh title and it would be a title with no power or duty attached. 

Some reporters now think that Prince Charles will continue holding the name for now. 

Biographer Hugo Vickers said of the Duke of Edinburgh title, "If it simply gets merged with Charles's, it will never be heard of again."

Officially, it is still unknown what will happen to this title, perhaps in due course it will be handed to another member of the royal family, or perhaps it will be left as an unused title that died with Prince Philip, only time will tell.