Prince Charles Feuded With His Brother Prince Edward Because of What He Did To Prince William
King Charles‘ feud with Prince Andrew has been well-documented. However, not many people are aware that the future king also feuded with his other brother, Prince Edward. Even more shocking is that the feud actually centered around Prince William.
Here’s why the now-Duke of Cornwall and Cambridge was at the center of his father and uncle’s feud.
Prince Edward invaded William’s privacy
The youngest of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip’s children, Prince Edward is the one most people are least familiar with. Because we don’t hear too much about him, we assume that he doesn’t like attention and avoids stirring up controversy within the royal family. However, he previously chose to ignore a request from the palace regarding his nephew and this caused a major rift with Charles.
The documentary Royals At War detailed the brothers’ clash that took place in 2001 after Prince William began attending St. Andrews University.
“When Prince William was at university, and a very strict issue from the palace to the media had gone out, there was going to be a protocol when Prince William arrived after that, the press was to leave the prince alone,” royal author Katie Nicholl explained. “There was one camera crew that stuck around.”
That film crew eventually admitted that they worked for Ardent, a production company started by Prince Edward, and therefore had permission to be there. The palace was then notified about the incident.
Charles branded Edward an ‘idiot’
A spokesperson for St. James’s Palace said at the time: ”There was a crew who have admitted to working for Ardent. They did try to film William and were noticed by him. It is quite disappointing as every other media organization has left St. Andrews to leave William the opportunity to start university in relative peace.”
When Charles got word that Edward had a crew following his son while he was at college, he was livid and called his sibling right away.
According to Nicholl, Charles phoned the then-Earl of Wessex and “in no uncertain terms [told] him he was an idiot and perhaps a choice few words other than that.”
She added that “The message was quite clear: ‘You have behaved inappropriately. Leave St. Andrews immediately.'”
A few months later, Prince Edward announced that he was stepping away from the entertainment industry and instead would focus on his public duties.
What the king and Edward’s relationship is like today
After Prince Harry and Meghan stepped down from their royal duties, Edward and his wife, Sophie, stepped up and amped up their work on behalf of the Crown. This is something Charles obviously appreciated and to show that he was grateful of the support, it was believed that at some point after the death of their parents, Charles would bestow the Duke of Edinburgh title (previously held by their father) onto his brother. And the king did just that on Edward’s 59th birthday.
A statement from Buckingham Palace read: “His majesty the king has been pleased to confer the Dukedom of Edinburgh upon The Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex and Forfar, on the occasion of His Royal Highness’s 59th birthday. The title will be held by Prince Edward for His Royal Highness’s lifetime.”
