Prince Edward has beengranted the title of Duke of Edinburgh byKing Charles – honouring the wishes of the lateQueen andPrince Philip.
Edward and wife Sophie were made Earl and Countess of Wessex when they married at St George’s Chapel in Windsor Castle in June, 1999.
After Edward received his new title on his 59th birthday on Friday,Sophie became the Duchess of Edinburgh – while their 15-year-old son James, Viscount Severn became the new Earl of Wessex.
The Edinburghs’ daughter Lady Louise Windsor, 19, however saw no change in her title.
Grandchildren of the monarch through the male line are entitled to use HRH titles – as per rules set out by King George V in 1917.
So as the daughter of the Queen's son, Lady Louise Windsor would normally have been known as “Princess”.
However, after Edward and Sophie were made Wessexes in 1999, Buckingham Palace said their children "would have courtesy titles as sons or daughters of an Earl," according to reports at the time.
Courtesy titles are only used by the peer's eldest living son, and the eldest son's eldest living son, and so forth. Other descendants are not permitted to use the peer's subsidiary titles.
After her birth in 2003, it was decided Louise would hold the title of Lady, to reflect that she is the daughter of an Earl rather than a Prince.
Similarly, the daughters of Charles Spencer, 9th Earl Spencer, are Lady Kitty, Lady Amelia, Lady Eliza, Lady Lara and Lady Charlotte – while his eldest son is known as Louis Spencer, Viscount Althorp.
When Edward was made Duke of Edinburgh on Friday, the Palace announced that the Dukedom – which in the past has been hereditary – will not, however, pass down to James when Edward dies.
The title will instead revert to the Crown, the Palace said, and James will become the Earl of Wessex and Forfar.
It comes after it emergedPrince Harry, 38, andMeghan Markle, 41, formally decided to use the Prince and Princess titles for the children Archie and Lilibet – claiming it was their“birthright”.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex publicly referred to their daughter as Princess Lilibet Diana for the first time this week as they announced their 21 month olddaughter had been christened at their home inMontecito, California.
It is understood the Sussexeswant to use their children's Royal titles in 'formal settings' but not everyday life.
Buckingham Palace has updated theroyal website to reflect the change – referring to Harry and Meghan’s children as Prince Archie of Sussex and Princess Lilibet of Sussex.
Under the rules set out by King George V the Sussex children had been eligible to use their HRH titles following thedeath of the Queen in September last year.
However they had remained as "master" and "miss" on the royal website over the past six months until the update on Thursday.
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