Prince Tobias, 3rd Duke of Edinburgh
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 Official portrait of The Prince Tobias in peerage robes.
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| Born | Tobias Atticus Henry Isidor | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Residence(s) | Hampton Court Palace Bagshot Park Solfach Castle Shugborough Hall (formerly) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Education | Abbotsgate House School Great Haywood Preparatory School | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Occupation | Senior Royal, Barrister, Executive, Jurist, Politician (formerly) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| House | Somerset | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Father | Charles III | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Prince Tobias, 3rd Duke of Edinburgh KG KT KP CH KBE ONZ KC PC (Tobias Atticus Henry Isidor; joined 7 October 2022) is a senior royal in the British Royal Family as the eldest son of the reigning monarch, Charles III and Miann, Prince Consort. He is second in the line of succession to the throne, behind his Great-Grandfather, John, Prince of Wales. A notable Businessman, Clergyman and prominent landowner within the region, Tobias is the owner of several large and profitable estates and businesses. He also serves as the Archbishop of Canterbury.
Politically, Tobias was a Member of Parliament for Preseli Pembrokeshire and later Stafford across three sessions of Parliament for various parties. First joining Parliament via a by-election during the 21st Session, he became the Leader of the Opposition as a member of the British Workers' Party. For the 23rd Session, he changed his constituency to Stafford and ran as a Member of the British Federation of Labour (a merger of the BWP and the Imperial Labour Party), but later joined the Alliance Party. During this time he also served as Secretary of State for the Home Office. His last session in the Commons was the 27th, in which he served as an Independent and furthermore, was appointed the 34th Speaker of the House of Commons. Somerset, a qualified barrister, has been both a prominent legal figure in the region and a legislative titan as well, authoring acts such as the Judiciary Act 2023 (part of the Acts of Union), HM Prison Service Act and HM Police Forces Act.
To that end, he has twice served as Justice Secretary, during the Second Premiership of the Baroness Lomond and later on in the first term of the Premiership of the 2nd Viscount Douglas. He has also been a contributing member in several other parties, including the Independent Slate (a precursor to the Heron Party) and the British Liberal Party. He retired from politics upon his father becoming Sovereign on the 1st March 2024. He has served numerous times as a peer within the House of Lords, furthermore as its Senior Deputy Speaker.
Well known for his business acumen, Tobias was widely regarded as one of the richest citizens in the Empire, bolstered by his lucrative business as Sotheby's & Co., as well as several landholding corporations.
Family
Tobias was adopted by Charles III becoming and thus became part of the Royal House of Somerset. Upon his father's accession to the throne, he was created Prince Royal of Great Britain. His other father is Miann, Prince Consort, then known as the Duke of Edinburgh. His younger brothers include two former Prime Ministers, the late Viscount Salisbury, and William Somerset, Earl of Durham.
He is known affectionately by his nickname "Tobers" throughout the region.
Owing to his father, Prince Miann being Patriarch of the Noble House of Grey, he is the nephew of The Baroness Wilton and The Lord Helsmdale, the Prince Consort's siblings. Tobias is also therefore the nephew of Thomas Carew, Viscount Sidmouth (via his marriage to the former) and also of Prince Victor, Duke of York, through his other father. His Grandfather is Prince Matthew, The Duke of Somerset, while his Great-grandfather is John, Prince of Wales. He has three cousins: the Duke of York, Owain, Lord Knightstone and The Lord Calder.
Sotheby's and Other Businesses
Tobias is speculated to be one of the wealthiest people within the Empire of Great Britain. His original success was derived from the company Sotherby's & Co. which he founded on the 4 November 2022.
The business holds auctions out of Pembroke House, Bond Street, London, and bases its head quarters out of Greys Court in Oxfordshire. Both historic buildings are privately owned by Tobias.
Sotheby's garnered much success and sold many collections to the wealthy of the Empire, eventually being merged into The Stafford Group (formerly Atholl Financial Holdings) alongside Tobias's other successful enterprise, the Inverlochy Estate Trust, located at Inverlochy Castle in Scotland.
Public Service
Tobias has served as a Member of Parliament for both the constituencies of Stafford and Preseli Pembrokeshire, having been elected as Speaker of the House during one of the sessions. Prior to this, however, Tobias served as Shadow Chancellor for the Opposition led by Sirch Somerset, upon whose resignation Tobias became the Leader of the Opposition.
Somerset has held three cabinet positions during his time in the Empire, first as Justice Secretary under the Premiership of the Viscountess Balloch, then later the Premiership of William Somerset, The Earl of Durham (then the 2nd Viscount Douglas) and secondly as Home Secretary under the Premiership of Elio Somerset.
Tobias sat in the Royal Court of Justice as Master of the Rolls, alongside his then-brother Elio Somerset who was the Lord Chief Justice.
Court Cases
Tobias (then Lord Stafford) was appointed as a High Court Recorder to hear Ex Parte the Viscount Islington, re: Denied Petition for Legal Question, a case that was accepted as a Judicial Review on the 15 April 2023 by King Edward IX as King-on-the-Bench. The petitioner was Elizabeth Somerset who acted on the instruction of the Viscount Islington after he made is original petition to the Court. Matthew Somerset acted on the instruction of the Earl of Antrim, Lord Chief Justice, who was the case's respondent. The Case was heard between the 15 April and 19 April 2023 and Judgement was delivered on the 20 April 2023. Both questions were answered in the negative by Lord Stafford, and the case also established the Stafford Test for Locus Standi.
Tobias also heard Ex Parte the Duchess of Edinburgh, re: Executive Order 34 The petitioner was Elizabeth Somerset who listed His Majesty’s Government as the respondent (though they made no submissions). Henry, Prince of Wales was appointed to hear the case in addition to the then Lord Stafford and the hearing took place between 22 and 25 April 2023. The majority opinion was delivered by the Prince of Wales on 26 April 2023 with whom Lord Stafford agreed. The Court answered the Question of "Is it legal to bind the House of Commons into a procedure they have not consented to?" in the negative and the Question of "Does Section 6.3 of the Executive Order contradict that?" in the affirmative. The Court thus granted the relief requested by Elizabeth Somerset and accordingly “Sections 6.3 and 7.02 of Executive Order 34 are struck and considered null and void”.
Royal and noble titles and styles
| Styles of Tobias, Prince Royal | |
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| Reference style | His Royal Highness |
| Spoken style | Your Royal Highness |
Styles
- 7 October 2022: Mr Tobias Pembroke
- 3 November 2022: The Right Honourable Mr Tobias Pembroke PC
- 22 June 2023: The Right Honourable and Learned Sergeant Major Sir Tobias Somerset CH KBE ONZ KC
- 28 July 2023 The Right Honourable and Learned The Baron Stafford CH KBE ONZ KC MP PC
- 1 March 2024 - present His Royal Highness The Prince Royal KG KT KP CH KBE ONZ KC PC
- Other Style (as used in the Lords) His Royal Highness Prince Tobias, Duke of Connaught
Tobias has been styled in various different ways during his duration in the Empire, including as Archbishop of Canterbury, a Peer and subsequently Prince of the Realm, as a Judge (Lord Justice T. Somerset MR), and indeed as a parliamentarian, member of government and a barrister. He has often been consulted by others with regards to how they ought to style themselves and appropriate uses of various titles in given situations. To that end he had begun work on the Stafford-Edinburgh Guide to the Peerage with his late friend Elizabeth Howard-Campbell, 1st Duchess of Edinburgh, until her death. He has been rumoured to have begun his own work, due to be published in due course.