Earl of Wessex rather than a duke. His wife Sophie became "The Countess of Wessex". "The Sunday Telegraph" newspaper reported that he was drawn to the historic title of Earl of Wessex after watching the 1998 film "Shakespeare in Love", in which a character with the title 'Lord Wessex' is played by Colin Firth. The current Earl of Wessex is also Viscount Severn. This subsidiary title is used as a courtesy title by the Earl's son and heir to his title, who was born on 17 December 2007. Earl of Wessex Earl of Wessex is a title that has been created three times
Earl of Ruglen Earl of Ruglen Earl of Ruglen was a title in the Peerage of Scotland. Along with the subsidiary titles Viscount of Riccartoun and Lord Hillhouse, it was created on the 14th of April, 1697, for Lord John Douglas-Hamilton, fourth (third surviving) son of William Douglas-Hamilton, Duke of Hamilton, 1st Earl of Selkirk, and his wife Anne Hamilton, 3rd Duchess of Hamilton. The 1st Earl of Ruglen succeeded as 3rd Earl of Selkirk on the death of his elder brother in 1739. The Earl's only son William, Lord Daer, died in 1742, so on the death of the Earl of Selkirk