King Charles III wants to honor Prince William and Kate Middleton's daughter, Princess Charlotte, with a royal title upgrade in the coming years, according to a new royal biography.
Veteran royal reporter and biographer Robert Jobson claims in his new book, Our King: Charles III: The Man and The Monarch Revealed, that the king was "thrilled" when William and Kate welcomed a baby daughter into their family in 2015, two years after the birth of their eldest child, Prince George.
The author continued that Charles is keen to one day elevate Charlotte, aged seven, from a princess to a royal duchess in her own right.
"As the King, Charles plans to honour his granddaughter and the change in hereditary law by granting her the title Duchess of Edinburgh, one of the most senior royal dukedoms in the Royal Family, on her wedding day."
By making Charlotte a duchess in her own right (royal dukedoms are traditionally bestowed on male members of the royal family to be passed down the male line) it would see the princess rank equally with her brothers, who if tradition is followed, would be made dukes on their wedding day, as was the case with Princes William and Harry.
The title of Duke of Edinburgh was the subject of increased speculation in Britain after the death of Queen Elizabeth II, as it was agreed at the time of her youngest son, Prince Edward's, marriage to Sophie Rhys-Jones in 1999, that he would one day inherit it.
The previous holder of the title was Elizabeth's husband, Prince Philip, who was made Duke of Edinburgh by King George VI before his marriage in 1947. When Philip died, the title passed automatically to his eldest son, Charles. The 1999 agreement stated that Charles would to give it to his brother, Edward, when he became king.
After his accession, Charles didn't automatically give Edward his dukedom, which led to speculation that the older brother was having second thoughts, in line with his desire to slim down the monarchy by keeping senior titles to those in close succession to the crown.
At this point, Charlotte's name became attached to the title.
"'Edinburgh as capital of Scotland is seen as an important U.K. city,'" a senior palace source is quoted by Jobson as saying, "and as the Dukedom of Edinburgh is one of the most important it was felt it should pass to one of the senior members of the royal family going forward.
"Technically by law and practice if Edward was given it, it would mean his son Viscount Severn would have expected to inherit the title," they continued. "So when it came up for discussion it was first felt best if it went to Charlotte given that she is third in line to the throne, rather than those on the edges, who in the coming years really won't have any role."
In March 2023, six months after becoming King, it was announced from Buckingham Palace that Charles had kept his promise to his brother by granting him the Dukedom of Edinburgh to mark his 59th birthday.
There was, however, a proviso, that the title was bestowed for Edward's lifetime only and that after his death it would revert to the crown. This, Jobson writes, leaves it conveniently "free for Charlotte at a future date."
Neither Charles nor Charlotte's parents, William and Kate, have commented publicly about the title or the speculation that it could one day be bestowed upon the princess. If Prince Edward were to outlive King Charles, it would be William or Prince George's decision on how to use the Edinburgh title.
Charlotte could also one day assume the title of Princess Royal. This is traditionally held by the eldest daughter of the ruling monarch of the day and denotes her senior status within the royal family.
There can be only one Princess Royal at any given time, and currently the title is used by Queen Elizabeth's daughter, Princess Anne. After Anne's death, it would be for the future King William to decide whether to give the title to his daughter.
Newsweek has approached Buckingham Palace and Kensington Palace via email for comment.
Our King: Charles III: The Man and the Monarch Revealed by Robert Jobson is published by John Blake in the United Kingdom, and available now.
James Crawford-Smith is Newsweek's royal reporter based in London. You can find him on Twitter at @jrcrawfordsmith and read his stories on Newsweek's The Royals Facebook page.
Do you have a question about King Charles III, William and Kate, Meghan and Harry, or their family that you would like our experienced royal correspondents to answer? Email royals@newsweek.com. We'd love to hear from you.
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About the writer
James Crawford-Smith is a Newsweek Royal Reporter, based in London, U.K. His focus is reporting on the British royal family ... Read more
