Although Absorption Edge Spectroscopy has been widely applied to the speciation of actinide elements, specifically at the LIII edge, understanding and interpretation of actinide edge spectra are not complete. In that sense, semi-quantitative analysis is scarce. In this paper, different aspects of edge simulation are presented, including semi-quantitative approaches. Comparison is made between various actinyl (U, Np) aquo or hydroxy compounds. An excursion into transition metal osmium chemistry allows us to compare the structurally related osmyl and uranyl hydroxides. The edge shape and characteristic features are discussed within the multiple scattering picture and the role of the first coordination sphere as well as contributions from the water solvent are described.