Ever wondered why Sophie, Countess of Wessex, the wife of Prince Edward was given that particular title, rather than perhaps the title of Duchess, like other princes’ wives, such as Meghan Markle and Kate Middleton?
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It all comes down to Edward himself, and a request he made to his mother Queen Elizabeth II when he married Sophie Rhys-Jones in 1999.
According to Express.co.uk, the Queen’s youngest child was reportedly lined up to take the Duke of Cambridge title, but he had his heart set on an entirely different name.
The Prince broke with tradition and asked to be named after a character called Lord Wessex in his favourite film, the 1998 comedy-drama Shakespeare in Love.
A royal insider revealed to the Telegraph in 2010: “He liked the sound of it and asked the Queen if he could have that instead.”
The Queen agreed and gave him the title Earl of Wessex.
The reason that he could not be the Duke of Wessex as there is no such dukedom or even a region known as Wessex in the modern UK.
Wessex was one of the kingdoms of Anglo-Saxon England before the country unified in the 10th century.
The area of Wessex is prominent in the legend of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table and is home to Winchester, which was the capital of England for some time.
Sophie was given the title of Countess of Wessex when she and Edward married, as a Countess is the title given to the wife of a Count or Earl.
In contrast, Kate Middleton and Meghan Markle stuck with tradition when they entered the royal family.
Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge was the title given to Kate after her 2011 wedding to Prince William, when he became the Duke of Cambridge.
Whereas Meghan is now known as the Duchess of Sussex after she married Prince Harry, who became the Duke of Sussex, in 2018.
