5 Times Prince Edward Blundered and Got a Telling Off From King Charles

While Prince William and Prince Harry's infamous rift tends to overshadow other brotherly feuds in the monarchy, they are certainly not the first or the only. Today, Prince Edward is known for the quiet strength he provides to the Firm, but his journey over the years saw many blunders that his elder brother, King Charles, never forgot to point out. Through words from the King's advisors or reprimands, the monarch eventually ensured that his younger brother became a contributing member of the royal family.

When Prince William started studying at St. Andrews, an agreement was reached with the press that they could film the Prince arriving at the Scottish university, but had to leave him alone during his studies. However, Edward's production company, Ardent Productions, didn't seem to follow through. A two-man crew tried to capture William as he left a lecture hall. The breach of agreement and invasion of his son's privacy by a family member understandably angered Charles. He reportedly went "ballistic." Royal author Robert Johnson said via the Daily Express, "Relations between the brothers plummeted to an all-time low as St. James’ Palace publicly criticized Edward for his idiocy and the behavior of his production company. In unusually blunt terms, a spokeswoman for Prince Charles said that he was: 'Disappointed, very much so.'"

Harry and Meghan Markle are often criticized for using their royal titles for commercial purposes. However, Charles once made a similar remark about Edward after his company tried to film William at his university. Jobson said via the Daily Express, "(Charles) berated his youngest sibling, furiously demanding from the Queen that Edward be made to choose once and for all between his public duties and his television company — itself, many believed, little more than a vanity project dependent on Edward’s title for what little success it had."

When Edward was still exploring the entertainment industry, he organized a special episode of It's a Royal Knockout featuring Princess Anne, Sarah Ferguson, Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, and himself. The absurd segment saw the royals leading teams and competing against each other in costumes. Unsurprisingly, it didn't go down too well. A fate Charles and Princess Diana had seemingly gauged early on. "Diana famously didn't take part; neither did Charles. He thought it was something that was beneath them," royal expert Richard Kay said via The Mirror.

Charles has understandably distanced himself from his brother, Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, due to his involvement in the Epstein scandal. Reportedly, back in 2022, the monarch was also "distancing himself" from Edward. The youngest sibling was seemingly "sympathetic" towards Mountbatten-Windsor, and that did not sit well with Charles. "Edward and Anne being seen publicly going out to meet with Andrew and to talk to him about what is going on, that wasn't taken very well," royal expert Kate Mansey said via the Daily Express.

A few years ago, there was a lot of chatter over whether Edward would be given the title of Duke of Edinburgh, which previously belonged to their late father, Prince Philip. After the latter's passing, the title automatically went to Charles, but as the then-Prince of Wales, he would not use it. Although the prestigious title was promised to Edward in the future during his wedding to Duchess Sophie in 1999, his eldest brother reportedly disliked Edward's rush, given that he had plans to slim down the monarchy. "Charles is making it clear that his brother may have jumped the gun (over the title of Duke of Edinburgh). It is not a done deal," a source close to the now-King said via The Mirror. Edward was eventually awarded the title of Duke of Edinburgh.