Strange Things Everyone Ignores About Prince Edward

Prince Edward, Duke of Edinburgh, is the youngest of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Phillip's four children. Edward has led a fairly quiet and scandal-free life compared to his other siblings. He and his wife, Sophie, Duchess of Cambridge, have supported the crown for years and were favorites of the late queen. But they do their best to keep their personal life out of the public eye. Because of this, even royal fans may know less about Edward than other more high-profile members of the firm. However, that's not to say that he's a total enigma. 

Edward has taken on more and more responsibility over the years and is a core member of the royal family. We've gathered some of the most interesting and strange moments from his history, including rumored feuds with siblings, disagreements over royal titles, and his strained relationship with the press. There's much more to the Duke of Edinburgh that you may have realized.

Prince Edward was treated differently from his brothers and sisters from birth. Unlike his older siblings — King Charles III, Princess Anne, and Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor — Edward came into the world in a somewhat modern way. Indeed, when Queen Elizabeth II gave birth to him on March 10, 1964, Edward became the first baby to be born with his royal father, Prince Philip, in the room. It was also the first time that Elizabeth refused the "twilight method" of being put to sleep during the birth. Instead, the expectant mother prepared for the grand event with elite birthing coach Betty Parsons, and it is understood that she at least tried put some of those techniques to work on the day Edward was born.

Once it actually came time to take care of Edward, the queen departed from her generally hands-off parenting style and got slightly more involved. She even altered her weekly meeting schedule with then-Prime Minister Harold Wilson in order to ensure that she could execute Edward's bath time. That's not to say that she was a modern mother to Edward. Unlike future generations of royal mothers — like Princess Diana or Princess Catherine — Elizabeth still expected her son to bow to her as dictated by protocol. But, still, as biographer Sally Bedell Smith put it in the book, "Elizabeth The Queen," "The queen became a more relaxed and consistently engaged mother" with her later kids.

Family ties, particularly between siblings, can be strained, and that remains true regardless of whether you're in a typical family or part of the most famous royal family in the world. Prince Edward is the youngest of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Phillip's four children. The eldest, King Charles III, was born in 1948, Princess Anne in 1950, Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor in 1960, and Prince Edward in 1964. Andrew is four years Edward's senior, and it seems the pair had a bit of a brotherly rivalry while growing up.

According to royal biographer Ingrid Seward, Andrew was much more boisterous than his younger brother and would often pick on the quieter Prince Edward. "Andrew bullied everybody and would constantly swipe his younger brother," Seward wrote in "Royal Children." "If he saw Edward going for a particular cake, Andrew would try and grab it first." The boy's natures remained very different throughout the years. Edward was sweet and quiet in comparison to his brother, who would often throw tantrums. 

In school, Edward outperformed his older brother. He did well in sports and drama and even became the head boy. After school, Edward went to Cambridge, while Andrew went straight into the military. It seems the two always had quite different personalities and, as a result, a somewhat strained relationship.

There are a lot of foods that members of the British royal family cannot eat, but as far as Prince Edward is concerned, Balmoral Butties are not among them. Known as bacon butties to most, this type of thick bacon sandwich is usually eaten for breakfast. When made with fresh bread, a dab of butter, some perfectly cured meat, and a great deal of brown sauce, these greasy treats are the ultimate comfort food. Edward loves to dig in so much that he named the sandwich after his late mother's famous summer home, Balmoral Castle.

This anecdote goes to show — once again — that Edward seems far more normal than the rest of his royal siblings. While he is happy chomping away on bacon-stuffed bread for breakfast, his older brother, King Charles III, is rumored to be picky about his eggs. In his book, "On Royalty," Jeremy Paxman claimed that Charles requires his eggs to be a very particular level of softness. "Because his staff were never quite sure whether the egg would be precisely to the satisfactory hardness, a series of eggs was cooked, and laid out in an ascending row of numbers. If the Prince felt that number five was too runny, he could knock the top off number six or seven," Paxman claimed. Although the palace denied Paxman's statements, royal expert Tom Quinn uncovered similar claims when researching for his book, "Yes Ma'am."

Prior to becoming Duke of Edinburgh on his 59th birthday, Prince Edward was the only one of the queen's sons not to be named a duke. Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor was named Duke of York, and King Charles III was the Duke of Cornwall. But rather than being named Duke, Edward took the title of the Earl of Wessex with his wife Sophie as the Countess of Wessex.

It's customary for members of the royal family to receive titles on their wedding day, and some royal fans were surprised when Edward was named Earl of Wessex rather than receiving a dukedom. But according to Mirror, it was Edward who requested the title. He was originally offered Duke of Cambridge, a title later taken by Prince William. Apparently, Edward requested this lesser title after the character in the film "Shakespeare in Love." A source spoke to the Telegraph in 2010 and was later quoted by the Mirror saying, "Prince Edward was going to be the Duke of Cambridge, but he watched the film Shakespeare in Love ... He liked the sound of [Earl of Wessex] and asked the queen if he could have that instead." It may seem like an odd reason to pick a title, but the queen obliged.

Prince Edward may not have inspired as much adoration as his iconic sister-in-law, Princess Diana, but back in the 1980s, he had a fanbase of his own. At the time, London was brimming with rumors about Edward's sexuality, winning him a kind of joking adoration from some members of the local LBGTQ+ community. There was even a gay nightclub called The Queen's Youngest Son, apparently in Edward's honor.

Unfortunately, however, Edward was not far supportive of the LBGTQ+ community at the time. He was interested in dating women and frustrated with all the insinuations surrounding his sexuality. Apparently, Edward felt particularly angry about rumors alleging that his friendship with actor Michael Ball was perhaps something more. As reported by the Los Angeles Times in 1990, the prince told reporters, "It's just outrageous to suggest this sort of thing. It's so unfair to me and my family. How would you feel if someone said you were gay?" Um, neutral, Edward.

When the prince's buddy, Ball, moved in with presenter Cathy McGowan two years later, the rumors about his dalliances with the prince came to a halt. And Edward's eventual marriage to Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh, in 1999 also cut some whispers short. Sadly, though, in the decades since his marriage, Edward has not done any notable work to support the LBGTQ+ community.

Prince Edward and Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh, have had over two decades of happy marriage. However, they were an unexpected match and initially did their best to keep their relationship a secret. The pair first met in 1987 at Capitol Radio, where Sophie was working in public relations, but it wasn't until meeting again years later that they started dating. Sophie was hired to manage publicity for a charity tennis event that Edward was organizing. The prince and the 28-year-old commoner hit it off their second time meeting and began dating out of the public eye.

Despite their efforts to keep their relationship private, the press eventually learned about Sophie. In response, Edward made a statement, saying, "I am taking this unusual step of writing to you directly in the hopes of stopping your reporters and photographers from destroying that part of my life that I am entitled to regard as private and more importantly, Sophie's life." Once the news was out, the couple was able to be more serious, with Sophie accompanying Edward to weddings and other royal events. 

Although Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh's life was never the same after meeting Prince Edward, she has certainly risen to the challenge of becoming a public figure. The British press even lovingly calls her "the royal family's secret weapon." But the way that Sophie has adjusted to royal life is not exactly an accident. In order to ensure that his love interest really had what it took to survive the trials of life in the spotlight, Edward dated her for a whopping five years before popping the question.

As reported by the Mirror, Edward tried to explain himself at the time of his engagement back in 1999. "It's impossible for anybody else to understand why it has taken me so long. But I don't think it had been right before and I don't think Sophie would have said yes. Hopefully the fact that she has said yes means I've got the timing right," he said. 

While Edward was, unfortunately, mocked by the press for dragging his feet on the issue of an engagement, the prince had the final laugh. Of Queen Elizabeth II's four children, Edward remains the only one to have avoided the issue of divorce. As royal expert, Marlene Koenig, told Express, Edward realized that, "You should actually get to know your spouse before you get married."

Perhaps part of the reason Prince Edward didn't fight for a dukedom earlier is because he was reluctant to take part as a high-profile member of the royal family. In fact, after their marriage in 1999, Prince Edward and Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh, maintained careers outside of their royal duties.

Edward had a passion for theater, and after a stint in The Royal Marines, he pursued that passion, opening his own company, Ardent Productions. Meanwhile, Sophie worked in PR, also opening her own agency. However, a few years later, the couple gave up their private careers in favor of aiding the queen. In 2002 they became full-time working members of the royal family for Queen Elizabeth's Golden Jubilee year. They've continued working for the crown in the decades that followed, though often keeping a lower profile than other members of the royal family. 

Sophie has centered her work around supporting programs and charities for children and women facing violence, and Edward used his royal position to continue his patronage of the arts. In recent years, they've started to take on more public-facing responsibilities. As the Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh, they'll play an even more significant part in royal affairs as Edward follows in his father's footsteps.

In his attempt to keep his personal life private, Prince Edward left a bad impression on some royal fans. When he started dating Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh, the press began reporting and speculating about their relationship quite frequently. The spotlight on his courtship was exactly what Edward had hoped to avoid. In response, he gave a rare TV interview, but unfortunately, rather than calming down the press, the interview gave the public a bad impression of him. 

"I think what he really would have loved to have done is do the whole thing really secretly, but he knew he couldn't so [the interview] made him look a little bit pompous and arrogant," said royal expert Ingrid Seward on the Channel 5 documentary "Edward & Sophie: The Reluctant Royals?"

Edward became increasingly irritated the more he was asked about proposing to Sophie. He told reporters at the time, "If you shut up and mind your own business and let me do it when I want, it's more likely to happen ... The more people second-guess, the more likely it is I just won't do it." While many can probably sympathize with his desire to keep his private life private, at the time, his strong wording was not appreciated. Many saw his attitude during the interview and in regard to the press as entitled. Fortunately, now the public seems to appreciate the Duke and Duchess more.

After receiving their new titles as the Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh, Prince Edward and his wife Sophie made their first public appearance on March 10, 2023, meeting with members of the Ukrainian community at of Edinburgh's City Chambers. While many royal fans were excited to see the couple stepping into their new roles so gracefully, their appearance did raise some concerns regarding Edwards's health.

Many noticed that Edward appeared to have lost a lot of weight quickly and voiced worries that the duke may be ill. Ohmymag (via MSN News) quoted a Twitter user who brought up the issue, asking, "Is the Earl of Wessex ill? He has suddenly lost so much weight." Many responded in agreement, saying that Edward appears slimmer every time they see him and worrying that he might be sick. Though another user pointed out it could be due to stress or grief, saying, "He's lost both parents in a relatively short space."

Despite concern from the public, there have been no official sources indicating that Prince Edward is unwell. The German publication Bunte claimed that Buckingham Palace had responded to them regarding these concerns. MSN quoted the German publication saying, "Everything is fine, Prince Edward is fine." However, it's worth noting that Bunte didn't provide any proof of this official update.

In March 2023, King Charles III granted his youngest brother Prince Edward, the title of Duke of Edinburgh for his 59th birthday. Up to that point, Edward was the Earl of Wessex. The title of Duke of Edinburgh is an especially significant gesture as it was the one held by their father, Prince Phillip, for more than 70 years. After Phillip's death, many assumed the title would go to his youngest son, and a source told the Daily Mail that the queen had promised the position to Edward before her passing. But the title didn't pass on to Edward that seamlessly. 

According to reports, Charles, who was responsible for naming the next Duke of Edinburgh, considered saving the coveted position to give to his granddaughter, Princess Charlotte, when she was older. The idea of getting passed over for Princess Charlotte was very hurtful to Edward, who is quite close to his brother Charles. A source close to Edward said, "It was a slap in the face, particularly when Edward has been such a help to Charles over the Andrew farrago." However, after some time to reflect, and perhaps after realizing how hurtful choosing Charlotte would be to Edward, Charles did elect to make his younger brother the Duke of Edinburgh. However, some sources have speculated that Charles may request to have the title returned to the crown after Edward's death rather than passing it to Edward's son, but that remains to be seen.

The royal family was rocked by scandal when news broke about Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor's ties to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Although Andrew maintained that he'd done nothing wrong, he was accused of sexually assaulting Virginia Giuffre when she was 17 years old, and his many attempts to get the case thrown out were denied. The case was later dismissed after lawyers reached a deal requiring Andrew to donate a substantial sum to his accuser's charity.

Before the case reached its conclusion, the crown took action to dismiss Andrew from their ranks. Buckingham Palace released a statement saying, "With the queen's approval and agreement, the Duke of York's military affiliations and royal patronages have been returned to the queen" (via X). This stripped Andrew of his military and royal titles. Though the final decision came down to the queen, Andrew's siblings held many meetings regarding his behavior and how they should handle it. 

According to the Daily Mail, Charles asked Princess Anne and Prince Edward for their opinions on how to deal with "the Andrew problem." All the siblings, including Edward, were in agreement to strip Andrew of his titles. 'They were all in agreement, which took the pressure off their mother," a source told the Daily Mail.

If you or anyone you know has been a victim of sexual assault, help is available. Visit the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network website or contact RAINN's National Helpline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673).

When meeting the public, it's common for royals to greet some of their loyal subjects by shaking their hands. At most engagements, royals will take a little time for a "walk about," where they greet onlookers and shake hands with members of the crowd. This actually started fairly recently with Queen Elizabeth II.

"We never shook hands," Princess Anne said on the "Queen of the World" documentary about her mother's reign. "The theory was, you couldn't shake hands with everybody, so don't start." But after Queen Elizabeth decided she wanted to meet the public more personally, shaking hands became more common and a bit of an expectation. Princess Diana, Princess Catherine, and other members of the royal family have followed suit in greeting the public similarly.

However, one member of the royal family still chooses not to shake hands with the public. When greeting a crowd, Prince Edward waves and speaks to people but doesn't stop to shake anyone's hand. Despite his mother establishing this tradition, it seems Edward was concerned about the time it would take up. According to the Mirror, Edward and his wife, the Duchess of Edinburgh, were happy to speak to well-wishers outside Buckingham Palace. But Edward apologized that he wouldn't be shaking anyone's hand because he wanted to speak to as many people as possible rather than stopping to shake hands.

Prince Edward was a favorite of his parents. According to Express, after Prince Philip retired from royal duties, his son Edward took over most of his work. This bond with his father was also illustrated by Edward's portrait being the only one in Phillip's study.

Along with her love for their youngest son, Queen Elizabeth II became very close to her daughter-in-law Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh. A palace aide told the Daily Mail that the queen considered Sophie like a daughter and relied on her heavily later in life. "Sophie has filled a terrible gap in the queen's life that was left when her sister and The Queen Mother died in 2002," they said.

While this close bond between the couple and his parents is quite touching, it may have only furthered resentments between Edward and King Charles III. Royal author Christopher Andersen told The Daily Beast, "Charles harbors varying degrees of resentment toward all three of his siblings ... for the affection and attention that was lavished on them by their parents and denied him from the very beginning."

Prince Edward's relationship with Prince Harry and Meghan Markle is an interesting one in comparison to the rest of the firm. When Meghan first married into the royal family, she and Harry seemed to share a special bond with Edward and Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh. This is perhaps because, like Meghan, Sophie married into royalty and empathized with the adjustment that Meghan was going through. Sophie and Meghan also had a lot in common as both of them are passionate about charity work, particularly causes for girls' education and against violence towards women. Some believed Edward and Sophie could use their relationship to bridge the gap between the couple and other members of the royal family. However, in the end, that proved impossible.

Despite how close the couples once were, it now seems that the Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh are filling in Harry and Meghan's shoes. According to the Irish Mirror, since Meghan and Harry rejected royal life, Sophie and Edward have become much more public-facing members of the royal family, taking on roles that may have gone to Harry and Meghan previously. 

The Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh are also some of the only members of the royal family who have spoken publicly about Meghan and Harry leaving royal life. It seems Edward's own history with the press gave him a lot of empathy for Harry and Meghan's situation. "Listen, weirdly we've all been there before — we've all had excessive intrusion and attention in our lives," he told CNN. "We wish them the very best of luck."

King Charles III and Prince Edward's relationship is unlike typical brotherly bonds, thanks in part to the their large age gap of 15 years. Because of this, they did not grow up together in the way you might expect brothers to. Speaking of the less-than-brotherly bond between the pair, a source told The Daily Beast that they "barely know each other." The coldness between them was highlighted when Charles considered going against his parents' wishes to deny Edward the title of Duke of Edinburgh.

It seems that Charles may have old resentments harbored toward his younger brother and his wife, Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh. This likely goes back to 2001 when Edward and Sophie were still maintaining personal companies instead of working full-time for the royal family. Charles and Edward had a public disagreement after Edward's film company attempted to capture Prince William during his first days at university. Then Sophie made the mistake of making casual remarks about the royal family while being secretly recorded by an undercover reporter. These public debacles angered Charles, who demanded his younger brother pick between his private career and the crown.

Along with this old grudge, Charles may be struggling with the public attention Sophie and Edward have received recently. Royal author Christopher Andersen told The Daily Beast, "On a certain level, Charles must also hate the fact that Edward and Sophie have been lauded for stepping up to fill in the void left by the departure of Harry and Meghan."

Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor and his ex-wife, Sarah Ferguson, resided at the Royal Lodge at Windsor for years until they were booted off the premises by King Charles III in 2025. This, of course, followed Andrew's name being tied to the infamous sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein. 

Reports indicated that the couple lived luxuriously in the 30-bedroom mansion and that they went a whopping 22 years without paying more than a nominal annual fee — as low as £1 — for rent. The public has reeled at the former Duke and Duchess of York's ability to live so well at so low a cost; however, his brother, Prince Edward, hasn't attracted as much attention for his arguably similar rental agreement. 

As reported by People, documents from the National Audit Office (NAO) show that Edward and Sophie were once required to pay for their residence at Bagshot Park. They leased the estate "for a period of 50 years with an initial annual rental of £5,000 (approximately $7,000)." In 2007, however, Edward signed a new lease that allowed him to pay an annual nominal fee, much like Andrew (via The Times). He did dish out more cash — $6.6 million — upfront for the lease compared to Andrew's £1 million.

Prince Edward and the rest of the royal family are known for living extremely lavish lives. With private planes, horse-drawn carriages, and at one point even yachts at their disposal, these wealthy members of England's upper crust are not exactly known for roughing it. Despite these comforts, Edward has been known to occasionally venture out into the London Underground just like the rest of us. Although he was recognized once on The Tube in May 2022, a palace spokesperson revealed that it's "not uncommon" for Edward to use public transport, according to the Express. In other words, Edward takes the metro fairly frequently but probably tends to blend in pretty well with the crowds.

This sense of relative anonymity certainly sets Edward apart from his brother, King Charles III, and famous nephews, Prince William and Prince Harry, who all struggle with the excessive media interest in their lives. But while these other royals often stand in the spotlight, Edward has been known for letting other, more prominent royals shine. As his wife, Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh, put it in a 60th birthday speech, "Like my father-in-law, my husband never seeks compliments for himself. So when acknowledgment has come his way it has always been a total surprise to him, which is why I am grateful for this chance to, for once, be able to publicly celebrate and compliment him" (via Tatler).