These 'unsung royal heroes' should get their titles upgraded

Britain's Prince Edward, Duke of Edinburgh (L) and Britain's Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh (R) arrive for the Royal Family's traditional Christmas Day service at St Mary Magdalene Church in Sandringham in eastern England

(Image credit: Getty Images)

published 29 December 2023

The "unsung heroes" of the Royal Family, Prince Edward and Sophie Wessex, deserve to have their titles upgraded, one royal expert has insisted.

It was a turbulent year for the royals to say the least, dealing with not only the aftermath of Queen Elizabeth II's death but also the fallout from the release of Endgame, another royal biography by writer Omid Scobie that makes some controversial claims about the family.

Daily Mail royal commentator Richard Eden has called Prince Edward and his wife Sophie his “unsung royal heroes of the year” for their quiet dedication and support during the royal scandals of 2023.

Richard Eden believes that King Charles' decision to award Edward and Sophie with life peerages, rather than hereditary titles, when awarding them new titles was an "insult" and doesn't show the appropriate appreciation for their role in 'The Firm'.

The couple were given the titles of the Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh to mark Edward’s 59th birthday - a title that was previously held by Charles and Edward's father, Prince Philip.

Richard believes that King Charles should give Edward and Sophie an immediate upgrade so they can pass the dukedom down the generations to their son, James, who may join 'The Firm' one day.

Richard Eden said of the incident in his Palace Confidential newsletter (via The Daily Mail), "In my opinion, this was an insult. What better way to celebrate Edward and Sophie's importance than by upgrading the title to a hereditary one?

"Perhaps that would be a good way to encourage their son, James, the Earl of Wessex, to join The Firm when the time comes?"

He also said in the newsletter, "It is sometimes easy to forget that the Royal Family is much more than just our monarch. And I would like to highlight two of my unsung royal heroes of the year: Prince Edward and Sophie."

Charles Rae, former royal editor at The Sun, gave the other side of the argument during a recent debate on Talk TV, disagreeing that the titles should be passed down. He said during the interview, "When Edward and Sophie’s time comes the title will revert back to the Crown and whoever is the monarch of the day can decide who to give it to.

"I see Richard is suggesting that the title should become hereditary so it can be passed down to his son James who could do work for the Royal Family. Well, it doesn’t quite work like that.

"We don’t know whether James is interested in working for the family firm. By which time depending on when they go - they’ve got lots of life left in them yet - but by then we will have George, Charlotte and Louis, will have grown up a little bit.

"You know, by the time they’re 18 they should be starting on the treadmill of royal duties so there may well be enough members of working royals already and that the monarch can then decide who to give that title to."

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Lauren is the former Deputy Digital Editor at woman&home and became a journalist mainly because she enjoys being nosy. With a background in features journalism, Lauren worked on the woman&home brand for four years before going freelance. Before woman&home Lauren worked across a variety of women's lifestyle titles, including GoodTo, Woman's Own, and Woman magazine.