Sophie 'could have become Queen' after odd request was sent to Prince Edward

07 August 2023 , 11:29

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Sophie 'could have become Queen' after odd request was sent to Prince Edward

As the late Queen's fourth child, it has always been near impossible that Prince Edward would become King and his wife Sophie as Queen.

In fact, he has now slipped to 14th in the line of succession behind a host of siblings, nieces, nephews and their children. However, it appears he could have taken the top job more than 30 years ago, which would have eventually made Sophie Queen - but it wouldn't have been in Britain, it would have been in a different country altogether.

That's because he was reportedly once bizarrely offered the chance to become king of a newly formed country back in the 1990s. It came in 1994 after the collapse of the Soviet Union when a whole host of new countries were created in Eastern Europe.

Prince Edward, the Duke of Edinburgh, with his wife Sophie, the now Duchess of Edinburgh (Getty Images)

One of them was Estonia, and in the country's first elections after the collapse of the Soviet Union, a political party called the Independent Royalist Party of Estonia gained eight seats in parliament. The Sunday Telegraph revealed at the time that the leader of the party had written to the Royal Family to ask if Prince Edward would become their king as they thought he was "perfect" for the role.

It was further said that the country would be honoured if he would accept as the party admired him "enormously". Following the unusual request, Buckingham Palace is said to have written back, saying that it was "a charming idea but a rather unlikely one".

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But despite apparently missing out on this, both Edward and Sophie both received brand new titles earlier this year - upholding a promise made to them by the late Queen. It was announced on Edward's 59th birthday this year that his brother King Charles was gifting him the title Duke OF Edinburgh - making Sophie the Duchess of Edinburgh.

Sophie and Edward at King Charles' Coronation (Getty Images)

The couple were promised their new titles on their wedding day in 1999 (PA)

It had long been known that Edward would one day become the Duke of Edinburgh after a pledge made by the late Queen on his wedding day in June 1999. At the time, eyebrows were raised when he was given an Earldom rather than a Dukedom. However, it was announced at the time of the nuptials that Edward would succeed his father as the Duke of Edinburgh with the blessing of his parents after his death.

The palace said at the time: "The Queen, the Duke of Edinburgh and Prince of Wales have also agreed that the Prince Edward should be given the dukedom of Edinburgh in due course when the present title now held by Prince Philip eventually reverts to the Crown." Philip’s desire for Edward to have the title was in recognition of his son’s decades-long commitment to the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award, the youth scheme which is one of Philip’s greatest legacies.

Jennifer Newton