The couple are referred to as “Their Royal Highnesses The Earl and Countess of Wessex”, as it was likely printed before news of their new titles became public.
Last week it was announced that Edward and Sophie would become the Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh, the title previously held by the late Prince Philip.
Before he passed away in April 2021 Philip had expressed his wish for the title to be passed onto his youngest son, which King Charles was happy to oblige.
The title Earl of Wessex will now pass down to Edward and Sophie’s 15-year-old son James, although there is no title change for their daughter Lady Louise Windsor, 19.
In an interview in 2021, Edward said taking on the title was “bittersweet” as “the only way the title can come to me is after both my parents have actually passed away”.
At this year’s Commonwealth Day service at Westminster Abbey, Edward and Sophie joined other senior members of the Firm – Queen Consort Camilla, Princess Anne and the Prince and Princess of Wales – to see the King make his address as Head of the Commonwealth, in his first Commonwealth Day since the death of the Queen.
However, the little royals Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis were absent as they were at school.
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The theme for this year’s Commonwealth Day is ‘Forging a Sustainable and Peaceful Common Future’, with particular emphasis being given to imprving the lives of the network’s young people.
Over 60 percent of the Commonwealth’s 2.5 billion citizens are under 30 years old.
The King delivered His Majesty’s Commonwealth Day Message from the Great Pulpit, and used the speech to pay tribute to the late Queen.
He said: “Commonwealth Day was an occasion of particular pride for my beloved Mother, The late Queen — a treasured opportunity to celebrate our Commonwealth family, to whose service she dedicated her long and remarkable life.
“In succeeding Her Majesty as Head of the Commonwealth, I draw great strength from her example, together with all that I have learnt from the extraordinary people I have met throughout the Commonwealth, over so many years.”
He also addressed some of the greatest challenges facing the institution, such as climate change, and expressed his hope for positive collective action.
The King continued: “Our shared humanity contains such precious diversity of thought, culture, tradition and experience. By listening to each other, we will find so many of the solutions that we seek.
“This extraordinary potential, which we hold in common, is more than equal to the challenges we face. It offers us unparalleled strength not merely to face the future, but to build it.
“Here, the Commonwealth has an incredible opportunity, and responsibility, to create a genuinely durable future — one that offers the kind of prosperity that is in harmony with Nature and that will also secure our unique and only planet for generations to come.”
