King Charles III has conferred the title to The Duke of Edinburgh on his younger brother, Prince Edward to mark Edward's 59th birthday. Prince Edward previously held the title of Earl of Wessex and Forfar.
His Majesty The King has been pleased to confer the Dukedom of Edinburgh upon The Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex and Forfar, on the occasion of His Royal Highness’s 59th birthday.
The title of Duke of Edinburgh is a historical one and has been created 4 times in Royal history - the 4th time being in 1947 when King George VI conferred this title on Charles and Edward's father, Prince Philip, ahead of Prince Philip's marriage to the then Princess Elizabeth. Since 1947 the title was held by Prince Philip until his death in April 2021, when being a hereditary title, it went to Philip's eldest son, Charles who was the Prince of Wales at that time.
Upon, Queen Elizabeth II's demise in September 2022, Chalres ascended to the throne and became the King and the title of Duke of Edinburgh reverted back to the Crown.
In 1999, when Prince Edward married Sophie Rhys-Jones, Queen Elizabeth made the Prince The Earl of Wessex and it was promised that after Prince Philip's death the title of Duke of Edinburgh will be conferred on Prince Edward.
For last two years, there has been many speculations about when King Charles III will give the title to Prince Edward. The Duke of Edinburgh title is a one of the highest ranking Royal Dukedom that was hold by Longest Reigning Monarch's spouse for the longest period of time. The title is also one of the strongest Royal Connection to Scotland. The title also comes with many responsibilities like Duke of Edinburgh Awards.
Here another factor to take into consideration is James's royal status. Edward and Sophie's both children, Louise and James, were born Prince and Princess of the Realm as per the 1917 Letter Patent - They were born Grandchildren of the reigning Monarch. But their parents decided to not use the titles for their children and chose private lives for them. James and Louise are not expected to be working Royals ever.
Their non-working Royal status is also one of the reason for making the Dukedom of Edinburgh lifetime instead of Hereditary. With time both James and Louise will move out of the direct line of succession. Currently they are on 14th and 15th number.
The Title of Duke of Edinburgh is extremely important for the Royal Family to let it go out of the direct line of succession. In future both James and Louise can start using the title of Prince and Princess but whether they will be a working Royal or not that for the time being will be answered as No. Hence I understand King Charles III's call to make the Prince Edward new Duke of Edinburgh for the lifetime only.
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