King Charles 'rips up Queen and Philip's plan for Edward to be Duke of Edinburgh'

Prince Edward is unlikely to be named Duke of Edinburgh due to King Charles’ plan to slim down the monarchy, a Palace source has reportedly said.

Edward, the Earl of Wessex, is the only son of the Queen not to be a duke and it was expected he would one day inherit his dad's title.

Following the death of Prince Philip last year the title moved to Charles but now it appears as though it may not be given to Edward.

This is despite the late Queen and Prince Philip having said Edward would inherit the title "in due course" when he married Sophie Rhys-Jones in 1999.

But it's now claimed that Charles, who is widely believed to favour slimming down the monarchy, is not keen on the idea.

King Charles may not give Duke of Edinburgh title to Edward (Getty Images)

“The King wants to slim down the monarchy [so] it wouldn't make sense to make the Earl the Duke of Edinburgh,” a palace source told The Daily Mail.

"The King wants to slim down the monarchy, as is well known. That means it wouldn't make sense to make the Earl the Duke of Edinburgh. It's a hereditary title which would then be passed on to the Earl and Countess of Wessex's son, James, Viscount Severn," said the source.

"Essentially, this was accepted by the Earl when he agreed that his children would not be a prince or princess."

Charles has plans to slim down the monarchy (Getty Images)

It is a very different situation to back in 1999 when Edward got married and Charles was happy for him to inherit his father’s title.

At the time Buckingham Palace said in a statement: “The Queen, the Duke of Edinburgh and the Prince of Wales have also agreed that the Prince Edward should be given the Dukedom of Edinburgh in due course, when the present title held now by Prince Philip eventually reverts to the Crown.”

The Queen and Philip had pledged that Edward would become Duke of Edinburgh (Getty Images)

Edward has previously stated how the final decision remains with Charles.

Edward told the BBC : ““It was fine in theory, ages ago when it was sort of a pipe dream of my father’s .... and of course it will depend on whether or not the Prince of Wales, when he becomes King, whether he’ll do that, so we’ll wait and see. So yes, it will be quite a challenge taking that on.”

The Mirror has contacted the Palace for comment.