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Prince Charles is known to be a sensitive and easily discombobulated fellow, and his feelings of jealousy about more than one member of his family over the years have been well documented.

Now, his brother Prince Edward and his wife, Sophie Wessex, are the focus of his uncomfortable feelings as they are proving to be more popular than he is.

The couple has been asked to take on more high profile roles by the palace, The Daily Beast reports.

Charles isn’t so chuffed about that, so instead of honouring his late father’s (Prince Philip) wishes and passing on the Duke of Edinburgh title to Edward, he is choosing to hold on to it.

Charles’ desire for more popularity might also explain the recent release of his party playlist on Spotify.

Charles’ refusal to pass on the royal title has added more spice to the royal family’s drama, especially since everyone expected the royal title to move on to Prince Edward eventually.

The expectation was cemented after an explicit public commitment by Buckingham Palace to make Edward the Duke of Edinburgh when he married the Countess of Wessex, then Sophie Rhys-Jones, back in 1999:

“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.”

But Charles is holding on to the title despite what was promised, with a source saying “the prince is the Duke of Edinburgh as it stands, and it is up to him what happens to the title. It will not go to Edward.”

Currently, per Tatler, Edward is the only one of the Queen’s three sons who does not hold a dukedom.

Although, Prince Edward wasn’t always certain he would be given the title:

In an interview back in June to mark the centenary of his late father’s birth, the prince was asked by the BBC: “You will be the next Duke of Edinburgh, when the Prince of Wales becomes king, that is quite something to take on?”

He replied: “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.”

True to the way one’s childhood leaks into adulthood, Charles seems to have had a strained relationship with his father and brother, resenting both for not giving him enough attention.

The Daily Beast reckons this could be more of the reason why Charles is withholding the title from Edward:

According to the seasoned Daily Mail social scribe Richard Kay, is childhood sibling rivalry, which he alleges goes back to Philip’s preferential treatment of Edward when they were boys.

Edward was said to have benefited from a relaxed and loving father-son relationship with Philip, who read him stories and helped build models with him as a kid, Kay says. Charles was famously treated very harshly by his father and said as much when telling his life story to his official biographer, Jonathan Dimbleby.

Charles’ decision also seems to be in line with his vision of a smaller royal family, with his intention to downsize and modernise the monarchy being well-known.

[sources:dailybeast&tatler]