For the first time, the royal couple who married on June 19th 1999 are marking their anniversary with the titles promised to them on their wedding day.
When Prince Edward and Sophie Rhys-Jones exchanged vows at St. George’s Chapel, Windsor in the last big British royal wedding of the 20th century, they did so knowing that, in time, the Dukedom of Edinburgh would be given to the groom.
An announcement from Buckingham Palace ahead of the ceremony confirmed that the youngest son of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip would become Earl of Wessex immediately but that he would one day take the title by which his father was so well known, Duke of Edinburgh.
That could only happen once the dukedom had returned to the Crown. On Prince Philip’s death, in April 2021, the title passed to his eldest son, Charles. However, when he became King, on September 8th 2022 on the death of his mother, Queen Elizabeth II, his titles returned to the Crown, including that of Duke of Edinburgh.
On March 10th 2023, the 59th birthday of Prince Edward, King Charles III recreated the Dukedom of Edinburgh and bestowed it on his younger brother who will hold it for his lifetime before it once again comes back to the Crown.
That means that on June 19th 2023, Edward and Sophie mark the anniversary of their marriage with the titles they were told they would have almost a quarter of a century ago. Happy Anniversary to the Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh.
