King Charles ‘went ballistic’ at Prince Edward in angry row over Prince William | Royal | News
An agreement was made between the Palace and the press that the media would film William’s arrival at the university, but would then have to leave him alone for the duration of his studies. While many media companies follow this rule, a film production company founded in 1993 by William’s uncle, Prince Edward, appears to have bent the rules a bit. Shortly after William started university, Ardent Productions, which mainly produces documentaries, set up its cameras at the Scottish university.
The two-man crew reportedly tried to film William leaving the conference room. When this was first discovered, King Charles, then Prince of Wales, reportedly went “ballistic” towards Prince Edward, as he was the company trying to obtain the footage.
Royal author Robert Jobson covered the incident in his 2006 book William’s Princess. He wrote: “It became clear that the scheme was intended to keep Ardent afloat. Desperate times seem to have called for desperate measures for Prince Edward.”
“William was furious. He felt that the actions of his uncle’s company threatened to undermine the carefully cultivated relationship between St James’s Palace and the media, which in turn would threaten the friendly agreement between him and the press.”
He continued: “When the story emerged, Prince Charles was understandably distraught. He berated his youngest brother, angrily demanding that the Queen choose between Edward’s public duties and his television company – with many believing what little success he had achieved was little more than a vanity project attached to Edward’s title.”
“Relations between the brothers hit an all-time low after St James’s Palace publicly criticized Edward for his stupidity and the behavior of his production company. A spokesman for Prince Charles, in an unusually blunt statement, said: ‘He is very disappointed.'”
In a statement made by Ardent Productions shortly after the incident, it was claimed that Prince Edward was unaware that the crew was staying in Scotland after filming William’s arrival at the university, and that he instructed the entire crew to cease activities when he was informed, according to The Daily Mail.
The King and Prince Edward’s argument did not appear to have caused any lasting damage to their now strong relationship.
