Prince Edward was once offered the chance to rule Estonia

Prince Edward, the youngest child of Queen Elizabeth II, was once offered the chance to become a monarch.

The Earl of Wessex, born third-in-line to the throne, is now in the 14th position in the line of succession to the British throne. He is likely to be even less involved in royal duties when his elder brother Prince Charles takes over the British throne and implements his plans of a slimmed-down monarchy. However, the 57-year-old was once offered the chance to Rule Estonia.

The Baltic Republic had been under the control of the now-defunct Soviet Union from 1940 until 1991. When it broke free from the Union in the early '90s, some of its citizens looked to one of the Queen's children for leadership.

In 1994, the Royalist Party in the burgeoning Baltic country offered Prince Edward the choice to lead the country. In a letter cited at the time by the Sunday Telegraph, the pro-monarchists party said, "Your background as an actor and television producer would be ideal to create the majesty a new king would require to combine ancient culture with modern political reality."

Unfortunately, Prince Edward refused the offer. According to the Mirror, Buckingham Palace dubbed the proposal "a charming idea but a rather unlikely one."

That same year, Prince Edward had a life-changing event happen in his personal life. He started a relationship with Sophie Rhys-Jones, whom he married in June 1999.

Edward and Sophie have been married for 22 years now, and are parents to Lady Louise, 17, and James, Viscount Severn, 13. At their wedding, they refused the traditional Duke and the Duchess titles, and also didn't give their children Prince and Princess titles like other royal children.

However, their eldest child Lady Louise would have the option of getting herself a Princess title when she turns 18 in a few days. The youngest granddaughter of the Queen would be celebrating her milestone birthday on Monday, November 8.

Sophie told The Sunday Times about her children's titles last year, "We try to bring them up with the understanding that they are very likely to have to work for a living. Hence we made the decision not to use HRH titles. They have them and can decide to use them from 18, but it's highly unlikely."