Kate Middleton’s title was nearly given to another royal but move was suddenly blocked

Princess Kate received a title that was previously earmarked for Duchess Sophie – until Prince Edward stepped in and made a surprising decision.

Before becoming the Prince and Princess of Wales, William and Kate were known as the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, titles awarded to them on their wedding day from Her Majesty the Queen. The couple still own the titles, but the Dukedom of Cambridge was actually originally supposed to be given to Prince Edward and Duchess Sophie, according to one Palace courtier.

When Edward and Sophie were married in 1999, they were named the new Earl and Countess of Wessex. Younger sons of the monarch have customarily been given dukedoms at the time of their marriage – such as Prince Andrew who is the Duke of York. And experts had expected the dukedom of Cambridge to be the most likely to be granted to Prince Edward

But, Edward instead had his heart set on becoming the Earl of Wessex – and it’s all because of a film.

A Buckingham Palace source told The Telegraph in 2010: “Prince Edward was going to be the Duke of Cambridge, but he watched the film Shakespeare in Love, which had a character called the Earl of Wessex. He liked the sound of it and asked the Queen if he could have that instead.”

Years later, Edward and Sophie changed their titles again and a few months after Charles’s ascension, they became the Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh. At the time of their wedding, Buckingham Palace had announced the intention that Edward would eventually be created Duke of Edinburgh, a title then held by his father, Prince Philip, once it had merged back into the Crown upon the death of both his parents.