Withholding titles, fights about Prince Andrew, and jealousy over a special relationship with
the queen. King Charles isn't thrilled with his youngest brother, Prince Edward.
King Charles III and Prince Edward are united by one common goal, and that's service to the
crown. Now that Charles is the reigning monarch, Prince Edward plays a key role
as a senior member of the royal family. In fact, Edward has represented the monarchy on more than
one occasion, standing in for the king and representing the United Kingdom as a whole.
In November 2022, Prince Edward greeted President Cyril Ramaphosa during an official
state visit and accompanied him on a tour of the royal botanic gardens. And on December 1,
2022, Edward and his wife, Sophie, Countess of Wessex, attended the Royal Variety Performance on
behalf of the crown. Clearly, Charles trusts his little brother to work on behalf of the monarchy.
It's been rather well-documented that King Charles had anything but a pleasant childhood. As first in
line to the British throne, he was thrust into the spotlight as a toddler. Charles also allegedly had
a difficult relationship with his father, Prince Philip, and the ire he faced at boarding school.
As a result, loneliness reportedly seemed to encapsulate Charles' life as a young boy.
Conversely, as the youngest of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip's children,
Edward sits a comfortable distance from the throne. The queen reportedly shared
a more motherly tone, and far more time, with her two youngest children, Andrew and Edward.
According to royal expert Christopher Andersen, the stark contrast in the way they were treated
led to alleged jealousy between Charles and Edward. As Andersen told The Daily Beast,
"We've all had that same spotlight shone on our lives."
Unlike King Charles, Prince Edward has faced fewer pressures throughout his life. As a result,
he had more opportunities to follow his passions and interests at a younger age. For example,
in 1993, he started his own film production company called Ardent Productions. Perhaps
surprisingly, the production company was allegedly at the center of one of
Charles and Edward's biggest arguments, which came to a head in September 2001.
At the time, Prince William was starting his first year at St. Andrew's University in Scotland.
According to the Express, a small film crew from Ardent Productions was spotted trying
to capture footage of the young prince in his day-to-day life. Royal expert Robert Jobson
alleged to the Express that Edward's company was in dire straits, and filming William was a
last-ditch effort to keep Ardent Productions standing. Jobson told the publication,
Of the queen's four children, Edward was the only one to enter into a rather stable
marriage. He and Sophie, Countess of Wessex, had a relatively low-key royal wedding,
they are raising two children together, and have shown a united front throughout their marriage.
Elizabeth's other three children each divorced their first spouses, which is frowned upon in the
Church of England, and allegedly conflicted with the queen's traditional preferences.
Perhaps it's unsurprising, then, that Prince Edward and his wife regularly
shared one-on-one time with the late Queen Elizabeth. In 2016, Sophie admitted that
they shared a rather close relationship with the monarch, explaining to Sky News,
"We live so much closer to the queen."
On the other hand, Camilla Parker Bowles, now the Queen Consort,
didn't always have a good relationship with the queen. Prior to marrying Charles, Camilla
was seen as the other woman in Charles' marriage to the late Diana Spencer. In Tom Bower's book,
"Rebel King: The Making of a Monarch," the expert detailed a particularly tense
conversation between the queen and her son after a few martinis. According to Bower,
Bower also alleged that the queen called Camilla
a "wicked woman," which is unlikely to have gone down well with Charles.
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's decision to leave their roles as senior royals shocked
the world. Following their departure, Prince William and Prince Edward took on high-profile
positions within the royal family. Since taking the throne, Charles has officially
made Edward a "counsellor of state," alongside Camilla, Queen Consort, and Princess Anne.
Charles had to make a formal request to essentially replace Harry as a
senior royal and counsellor of state, the BBC reported. It's likely that Charles selected
Edward for the role, as the only other option would have been Prince Andrew,
who was stripped of his military titles during the Jeffrey Epstein scandal.
Prince Edward certainly seems to be one of the most normal members of the British royal family.
When he's not on the job, he keeps a pretty low profile, along with his wife, Sophie, Countess
of Wessex. The pair have even been successful at keeping their kids out of the spotlight. As
a result, Edward may not see eye-to-eye with the king when it comes to the spoils of royal
life. According to royal expert Tom Bower, Charles' alleged untampered jealousy towards
Edward should've been nipped in the bud years ago. Basically, their differences in perspective
shouldn't have been allowed to become such a public issue. As Bower told The Daily Beast,
Bower also recounted a strange story about Charles allegedly demanding that his own
bedroom set be carted to a friend's home during a weekend getaway. This
extravagant behavior shows that there are some stark differences between the brothers.
Discussing the alleged rivalry, Bower explained,
One of the biggest points of contention between King Charles and Prince Edward apparently
has to do with Edward's title. When Edward married Sophie, Countess of Wessex, in 1999,
it was announced that Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh,
wished for the Duke of Edinburgh title to be passed on to Edward after Philip's passing.
Being handed such a vital title, and one that belonged to his father, is certainly a meaningful
gesture for Edward. But as it turns out, Charles had no intention of giving Edward the dukedom,
especially now that he's king. In fact, to add insult to injury, Charles is the Duke of
Edinburgh and will be until he ever decides to pass the title along to his youngest brother,
per The News. Roya Nikkhah, the royal editor of The Sunday Times, quoted a source, saying,
This assertion was bolstered by royal expert Christopher Andersen, who told The Daily Beast,
A known associate of the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, Prince Andrew
faced sexual assault allegations, and settled with his accuser, Virginia Giuffre, in 2022.
Andrew was subsequently stripped of his military titles and all official royal duties.
"He knows what happened."
He has all but evaporated from the public eye, which is apparently just how Charles
wants to keep it. However, Charles' perspective isn't necessarily supported by the rest of the
family. According to reports, Charles and Edward are said to be on opposite sides of the argument.
In November 2022, Edward, Andrew, and their sister, Princess Anne,
all got together to go hunting, but Charles was noticeably absent.
The family gathering took place just days before Charles' 74th birthday.
It was reported that the king was less than thrilled, as he allegedly believes
that Andrew should be kept out of the spotlight indefinitely. A source revealed to the Daily Mail,
Despite their well-documented strife and differing ways of life, King Charles and Prince Edward were
brought together in grief when their mother died on September 8, 2022. Both brothers
and their wives traveled to Balmoral Castle in Scotland to be by the queen's side when she died.
Charles made it in time, and said goodbye to the beloved monarch along with his sister,
Princess Anne. Edward and his wife Sophie arrived in Scotland shortly after the queen had passed,
along with Prince William. Despite years of alleged distance and public scandal,
the royal family instantly united when the storied monarch passed.
Understandably, the queen's death marked the end of an era for everyone.
Shortly after the queen's passing, Prince Edward wrote on the royal family's Instagram account,