Talk:Duchess of Edinburgh

Current holder!
The current holder remains Elizabeth II (irrespective of her higher position). This is because only HER titles can merge with the Crown. The Dukedom of Edinburgh is NOT hers and therefore can't merge with the Crown. She holds the feminine form of all her husbands titles and therefore is also Countess of Meirioneth and Baroness Greenwich. These cannot merge with the crown because the position of Duke of Edinburgh is still very much in existence. She may choose not to use them but she is still entitled to them. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 86.28.194.217 (talk) 13:55, 1 November 2020 (UTC)

First and only Romanov?
Queen Victoria had a granddaughter, Empress Alexandra Feodorovna/Princess Alix of Hesse and by Rhine, who married tsar Nicholas II, a Romanov; QV also had another granddaughter, Princess Elisabeth of Hesse and by Rhine, who married Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich, a Romanov. Why is Grand Duchess Maria Alexandrovna stated as being the only Romanov to marry into the British Royal Family? 173.90.65.191 (talk) 02:01, 21 March 2019 (UTC)

Technically speaking Empress Alexandra and her sister were not members of the British royal family as they were daughters of one of Victoria’s daughters married to a foreign Royal and so were regarded as members of the Hessian royal family Penrithguy (talk) 01:06, 28 July 2019 (UTC)

Queen Elizabeth II shouldn't be the Duchess of Edinburgh
This article states that Elizabeth II is currently the Duchess of Edinburgh. I don't believe this is correct. When a person becomes a monarch, all titles that they previously held - courtesy or otherwise - are absorbed by the Crown. This would mean that Elizabeth stopped being the Duchess of Edinburgh the moment she became Queen. See the Wikipedia section on Merging in the Crown. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 86.177.8.4 (talk) 10:27, 21 August 2020 (UTC)

All HER titles merge with the Crown. The Dukedom of Edinburgh is not her's and as the wife of a Duke, she remains a Duchess (by marriage). — Preceding unsigned comment added by 86.28.194.217 (talk) 13:45, 1 November 2020 (UTC)

The Queen will remain the Duchess of Edinburgh until her death. Please amend. The Duchess will not be removed from a living person. The Dukedom will be reassigned upon the assertion of Prince Charles as King. CjW261218 (talk) 14:02, 9 April 2021 (UTC)

Elizabeth II was Duchess of Edinburgh until she became Queen
Elizabeth II was not the Duchess until 2021. The idea that a British monarch cannot hold a title stems from the Buckhurst Peerage Case. This means that a monarch cannot hold a title from herself.

People here seem to argue that this has no effect on the case of the Duchess of Edinburgh, because the title did not belong to the Queen. Nonetheless, the Buckhurst Peerage Case suggests that a monarch "cannot hold a dignity from himself" (or herself). Being Duchess of Edinburgh is clearly a dignity and it clearly derives from the Crown.

I think it makes no logical sense to argue on the one hand that a monarch cannot hold a peerage title while also arguing that she can hold the courtesy titles that stem from a peerage title. As the Queen is the fount of honour, she is also surely the fount of courtesy titles.

Thus, I suggest that she ceased being the Duchess of Edinburgh upon her accession as Queen. I will edit the article as such.

This is also based in fact: the Queen has never been referred to as the Duchess of Edinburgh by the palace or any official sources since her accession. I think if we are going to state that she was Duchess even after her accession, we need to back it up with some evidence. Ff462 (talk) 09:43, 13 April 2021 (UTC)

Respectfully, this is wrong. The title isn't "from herself to herself" and never has been. The title was from "her Father to her husband" (never to her). She is NOT the Duchess of Edinburgh in her own right. She didn't cease to be the Duchess of Edinburgh when she became Queen just because she held a higher title as she was still married to the holder of the Dukedom of Edinburgh. If she had abdicated and reverted back to being a Princess (which this article bizarrely suggests she can't because she holds a higher title now), the new monarch wouldn't have had to regrant the title to her, because it wasn't hers. It was her husbands. She held the feminine form of all her husbands title right up until he died - she just didn't use them. I'm not going to amend the article because I know it's going to be re-added but I just wanted to add my contribution because I KNOW it's wrong!
 * In this article she still is the Dutchess and will be until she dies.Games of the world (talk) 20:13, 21 April 2021 (UTC)

Only knowing that it's wrong isn't a convincing argument. Where's the evidence? I wouldn't count an article from the Independent as evidence either. Are they an authoritative source on royal titles? The journalist may well have just got the information from this Wikipedia article during the time it claimed that Elizabeth had been the duchess of Edinburgh.

To respond to your reasoning: it makes no difference which monarch created the title. Are you then suggesting that the situation would be different if Elizabeth had created the title, instead of her father? And are you suggesting that other peerage titles created by previous monarchs do not merge with the Crown? This is evidently not the case.

The fact is, being the Duchess of Edinburgh is a dignity from the Crown. It may stem from her marriage but it's still a dignity from the Crown. Thus, as before: a monarch cannot hold a dignity from herself. Ff462 (talk) 07:05, 25 April 2021 (UTC)


 * Buckhurst Peerage Case rules applies to peers in their own right. Elizabeth II, despite being monarch, was a consort to a holder. It never merged in the Crown. It wasn't hers to merge. Peter Ormond (talk) 14:21, 1 May 2021 (UTC)

Please provide some sources. The current discussion seems entirely based around wikipedians' personal views, which is inadequate. The one source provided doesn't say whether or when she ceased being the duchess. DrKay (talk) 14:33, 1 May 2021 (UTC)


 * Is it too interpretative of a primary source to say that the 1953 titles proclamation specifies the totality of her UK titles, and it doesn’t include Edinburgh? Other than that, the only source I’ve seen that directly addresses the issue is this but the Daily Express is hardly reliable! DeCausa (talk) 21:16, 1 May 2021 (UTC)


 * Can't we just say "does not use title", which is clearly the case. Deb (talk) 08:40, 4 May 2021 (UTC)

'Marriages' column
Camilla has been married more than once but it's not shown in the 'Marriages' column. Perhaps that column should be redesigned as a 'Duke' column. DrKay (talk) 08:59, 30 June 2021 (UTC)
 * The column headings used at Duchess of York seem more appropriate at this article. DrKay (talk) 09:24, 30 June 2021 (UTC)

It's the next monarch's decision
Perhaps we should point out, that Charles could chose not to give the ducal title to his brother. GoodDay (talk) 02:02, 13 February 2022 (UTC)

A Commons file used on this page or its Wikidata item has been nominated for deletion
The following Wikimedia Commons file used on this page or its Wikidata item has been nominated for deletion: Participate in the deletion discussion at the. —Community Tech bot (talk) 17:08, 16 March 2023 (UTC)
 * Countess of Wessex UK in NL Embassy 2023 (cropped) (cropped).jpg

Dukedom for Life (present holder)
https://twitter.com/liturgicalben/status/1645752231205957633?s=61&t=hpe5swj8osG-ejws8r-Dwg

"unto him for his life..."

The fact that this dukedom is for life may be of significance, as explained by this thread, that the norm is hereditary. 99.239.48.128 (talk) 04:06, 12 April 2023 (UTC)