Prince Edward has been named as the new Duke of Edinburgh, Buckingham Palace has announced.
The Duke of Edinburgh’s International Award Barbados is delighted to confirm that the International Award Foundation’s Chairman of The Board of Trustees, HRH The Prince Edward has been named as the new Duke of Edinburgh, as announced by Buckingham Palace earlier this morning.
"His Majesty The King has been pleased to confer the Dukedom of Edinburgh upon The Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex and Forfar, on the occasion of His Royal Highness’s 59th birthday. The title will be held by Prince Edward for His Royal Highness’s lifetime."
Buckingham Palace said in a statement: “The new Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh are proud to continue Prince Philip’s legacy of promoting opportunities for young people of all backgrounds to reach their full potential.”
Chairman of the Award in Barbados Mr. Stephen Smith commented: “I always felt it would be great if HRH Prince Edward would be conferred with the title Duke of Edinburgh which his father and Founder of the Award, HRH Prince Philip previously bore, as he is now Chairman of the Award program which also takes its name from the title. We are indeed very pleased at this development as it augers well for the legacy of the Award program. As a member of the Award’s International Council, I meet with HRH Prince Edward each year and see firsthand how dear this program is to him. I therefore have no doubt he is very pleased to carry on the legacy with this new title.”
The Dukedom was last created for Prince Philip in 1947, upon his marriage to Princess Elizabeth, who held the title of Duchess of Edinburgh before acceding to the throne in 1952.
The Award in Barbados would like to extend our heartfelt congratulations to His Royal Highness, as he continues his late father’s legacy.
ENDS
Notes to Editors His Royal Highness was created Earl of Wessex in 1999, on the occasion of his marriage to Miss Sophie Rhys-Jones.
In 2019, Queen Elizabeth II granted The Earl of Wessex the additional title of Earl of Forfar, on the occasion of His Royal Highness’s 55th birthday.
About The Dukedom of Edinburgh
The Dukedom has previously been created four times for Members of the Royal Family:
1726 – Prince Frederick, eldest son of King George II
1764 – Prince William, brother of King George III, as part of the joint title, The Duke of Gloucester and Edinburgh
1866 – Prince Alfred, second son of Queen Victoria
1947 – Prince Philip, husband of Queen Elizabeth II
About The Duke of Edinburgh’s International Award
The Duke of Edinburgh’s International Award is a global, non-formal education and learning framework which challenges young people to develop new skills, get physically active, learn about teamwork and leadership through Adventurous Journey and volunteer within their community.
It was founded by HRH The Prince Philip, The Duke of Edinburgh in 1956, in conjunction with German educationalist Kurt Hahn.
It is known by a range of different names around the world – including The President’s Award Trinidad and Tobago, The President's Youth Award Republic of Guyana, the Governor General's Youth Award in The Bahamas, DofE in the UK, and The International Award for Young People in India.
There are currently more than a million young people completing their own unique Award programme, via hundreds of thousands of youth-focused partners and operators, including schools, youth organizations, examination boards and youth offenders’ institutions.
The Award is delivered around the world by schools, colleges, universities, employers, social clubs, uniformed and non-uniformed youth organizations, young offenders’ institutions, religious organizations, sports clubs, and a whole host of other civic organizations.
HRH The Earl of Wessex is Chairman of the Board of Trustees for The Duke of Edinburgh’s International Award Foundation.
The Award in Barbados
Since its launch in Barbados in 1963, thousands of young people have participated and received Awards, with even more benefitting from its impact.
Sir Trevor Carmichael KA LVO KC is Chairman of the Board of Trustees for The Duke of Edinburgh's International Award Barbados
Mr. Stephen Smith is Chairman of the National Award Council for The Duke of Edinburgh's International Award Barbados.