Seward: Prince Edward ‘is rather thoughtless’ & ‘can sometimes be arrogant’

Here are some photos of Prince Edward on Monday, where he visited the Reading Rep Theatre. He loves the theater and he probably should have all of the theater/acting/dramatic-arts patronages, but unfortunately he does not. On a superficial level, it’s kind of remarkable to see how much Edward and Charles are both taking after their father as they get older. Edward turned 60 last month, while Charles turns 75 later this year. They both have angles where they look so much like Prince Philip. Anyway, as the Windsor clan has been a ball of chaos this year, the British media has been trying to make “Steady Eddie” stick. They’ve been running embiggening commentary and positive articles on his work for a while. Ingrid Seward just had yet another piece about Edward in the Mail. Some highlights:

According to a recent YouGov poll, Edward – now a key figure in the Monarchy – has seen the greatest rise in popularity over time of any member of the Royal Family. The Prince has been just been appointed Colonel of the Scots Guards, succeeding the 88-year-old Duke of Kent – an honour bestowed upon him by his elder brother, the King. It is one of several.

Last year, on Edward’s 59th birthday, Charles made him the Duke of Edinburgh, the title their father had held. This year, Edward was awarded the Order of the Thistle, Scotland’s highest royal honour. It is all a fitting reward not just for plain hard work, but thorough-going decency.

Edward, who has just celebrated his 60th birthday, has seldom enjoyed much positive media attention. When he married Sophie Rhys -Jones in 1999, he was accused of making money from the TV coverage of the wedding. Two years later when Prince William started at the university of St Andrews, Edwards TV company Ardent filmed the student Prince while other media had agreed to back off.

Being very much a private person, Edward was humiliated by the ticking off he received. His calm exterior masking a less confident individual than he cares to portray. Marriage and fatherhood have matured him – he credits much of this to his wife Sophie – but he still lacks the spontaneous warmth deployed so successfully in public by his elder brother the King.

He can certainly come across as rather thoughtless, much like his siblings, but that is not entirely his own fault. The royal offspring of his generation were raised to have everything done for them from the complicated to the mundane. No wonder Edward likes order and expects things to be done properly.

He is said to find the whole business of being royal very constraining at times but has learnt to live alongside it, unworried that everything is done for him. He can sometimes be arrogant but he is never openly condescending towards people. He is kind and has a self-deprecating sense of humour. He writes his speeches himself and delivers them with humour. If his words seem to be falling flat, he simply presses on, protected by the mantle of royalty and secure in the knowledge that sooner or later he is certain to raise a laugh.

[From The Daily Mail]

Oof. “He still lacks the spontaneous warmth” and “He can certainly come across as rather thoughtless” and “He can sometimes be arrogant but he is never openly condescending towards people.” Lord, this was supposed to be a positive piece about how he’s coming into his own as a man of 60. No, this is really his nature – arrogant, cold, thoughtless. I can’t believe I’m about to do this, but I might have to defend Edward a little bit? He does come across as awkward and uncomfortable most of the time, but he also comes across as someone who’s probably better one-on-one. He just seems ill-suited, temperamentally, for royal life. But then again, they all seem ill-suited for it. Which is why they were so mad when Diana and Meghan married into the family and were brilliant at the public-facing side of it.

Photos courtesy of Cover Images.

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60 Responses to “Seward: Prince Edward ‘is rather thoughtless’ & ‘can sometimes be arrogant’”

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  1. Josephine says:

    Here’s my take. They are all ill-suited for this life because it is at its core artificial. Royalty is made-up. It was a way to steal land, money and power. They all know that they don’t deserve it. They also all know that they don’t have to do anything to maintain it.

    It’s a con, a sham, and that makes for some very bizarre behavior, incredibly arrogant and entitled but with an underlying low self-esteem.

    • StillDouchesOfCambridge says:

      👆 💯

    • SamIAm says:

      They are because they don’t care. Eddy doesn’t have a good rep. But for an inherited business, theirs is the easiest! They have hundreds of people around them to do everything, organise and plan. All they need to do is turn up at charities, shake hands, look interested for 30 mins and for that they’re billionaires. It’s embarrassing.

    • Mcmmom says:

      Eh, I think you give them too much credit. I agree that it’s all made up, but I don’t think they all have imposter syndrome at their core. I think they believe that they are special and worthy of their unusual lives. I think the problem is that they have the privilege without the responsibility and that makes them entitled and spoiled, as it would anyone. Their mother, on the other hand, saw the connection between her life and her duty because she was a wartime royal. She wasn’t able to instill in that in her kids because unfortunately, one cannot manufacture a war and all that goes with it.

      My $.02 as a non-expert.

      • Underhill says:

        this describes them neatly, I think. We boomers, all of us, were a bit cossetted because the previous generations had had to sacrifice. The old Queen was no exception.

      • Agnes says:

        100% agree with this take, especially after watching the Andrew trainwreck interview. They absolutely believe they are above mere mortals. Edward just has his vices under control. It’s such a crazy institution, wow.

    • dina says:

      couldn’t have said it better myself

    • Brassy Rebel says:

      Josephine, that’s the comment of the year and you made my day. 😀

    • Pork Belly says:

      How did we get to the point that we’re basically (and unquestioningly) handing our hard earned money to this lazy, undeserving random family?
      You just answered my question.

    • Lindsay says:

      Wow Josephine! Please tell me you are writing a book, because the way you get to the thesis is legit awe inspiring. It’s so easy to understand when it’s said so clearly.

    • Kake says:

      @Josephine for the win:))!! 🎯🎯

  2. Rapunzel says:

    Projection, perhaps? Really describes his nephew, Willyboy.

    • Megan says:

      They’re all the same. Lazy, spoiled, entitled, and, in Edward’s case, resentful. Edward needs to stop trying to make fetch happen. People are never going to like him.

  3. Lady Digby says:

    Edward could become regent for George if Willy continues to spiral and insists on taking a five year sabbatical to help him and Kate recover their mojo. Didn’t Willyboy want a sabbatical in his 30s and the late Queen said No! Nothing would surprise me given Willy just does his own thing these days, duty be hanged!

    • Underhill says:

      William makes it ever more clear that he does not want his position…and he has, some of us believe, done things which might disqualify him in these modern times. Hundreds of years ago, violence was expected, but it is disqualifying now, for the most part.

  4. Schrodinger's Kate says:

    I think he does the best he can with his rather bizarre lot in life. I read how he once took it in stride that his own mother apparently forgot his birthday until reminded by staff. He seems to usually have the bearing of quiet good humor when he’s not being awkward.

    He’s turned out about as well as one could hope and may be the most decent pick out of that particular litter. He’s my personal pick for least objectionable. The bar is in hell, I know. But Andrew is such a stark example of exactly how bad it can get.

    And Charles himself is not far behind as such a ghastly husband and father that the only way his ex wife and son could thrive was to get away from him. William is still adjacent and definitely not thriving. He may be withering right before our eyes.

    Edward’s wife and children seem to bear his company well and are thriving as much as is possible in such an archaic institution.

    Ultimately all of this is why he’s mostly forgotten by the public. Edward Who? The Queen had FOUR children? Really?

    • Cerys says:

      I tend to agree with you. Edward seems to be the best of a bad bunch. He gets on with the job quietly and his family seem able to balance public life and privacy quite well.

    • SenseOfTheAbsurd says:

      I know somebody who was at Wanganui Collegiate when Edward was there for his gap yaaar, and says that he’s dumb as a bag of hair, but basically good-natured. Tim Nice-but-Dim in real life.

    • Lucky Charm says:

      My youngest still insists to this day that I forgot about his seventh birthday (he’s also the youngest of four). It just got wrapped up in back to school craziness, but I still feel bad that he thinks I forgot about him.

  5. Mina_Esq says:

    I don’t see the physical resemblance. Prince Philip was objectively handsome in his youth, and even at 60. None of his sons are handsome. They all take after the late Queen, who was no Claire Foy. But we needed the genes of Philips and Dianas to give us the one off attractive members like Harry and Eugenie.

    • Cait says:

      Edward for a brief shining moment in time was the best looking of all Elizabeth and Phillips sons. He seemingly got the best of them both physically. Than he got crap looking quick

    • Cairidh says:

      Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. I think the Queen was much prettier than Eugenie.
      Charles, Andrew and Edward were all handsome when they were young but aged badly.
      My mother met princess Anne in the 70s. She said in photos she looked horsey but in real life she was absolutely beautiful.

  6. Tessa says:

    Charles has no warmth . He treated his first wife badly and is a bad father. Edward treats his wife and children with live and respect. Sorry Ingrid Charles imo lacks warmth and is arrogant. It’s also that media continues to ignore what Andrew did.

  7. Brassy Rebel says:

    I don’t see much of Phillip in Edward at all. In his younger years, even in his sixties, Phillip was handsome. Edward looks like he was put together by a committee.

    • Tennyson says:

      I’ve met Edward 7 times, interacting with him 3. Meaning replying to his questions. He doesn’t listen to the answers, just guffaws and walks backwards. In any other family he would have been put in SEn, special needs programs. He is dumb, ignorant, socially awkward but none the less full of himself.
      I helped organise an important literary festival and he’s the patron. He has no intellectual curiosity and stays away from the authors, making dumb and even offensive remarks on intellectuals or intelligence.
      I interacted with Sophie twice. Another full of herself and stupid.

      • Underhill says:

        ” …doesn’t listen to the answers, just guffaws and walks backwards.:”. Lol. Isn’t that a necessary royal behavior?

      • Where'sMyTiara says:

        This account absolutely jives with how he and Fiesta treated people at the theatre… recall Fiesta insulting Frank Skinner at the Royal Variety Performance in December of 2022.

        I’m also old enough to remember when he flipped the eff out on media when his little pet project “It’s a Royal Knockout” – which he was desperate for praise on – was brutally panned.

        All these years later he’s still salty about it: https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/royals/prince-edward-lost-temper-protocol-30905397

    • Innie says:

      In that last pic he looks a lot like George VI, I think.

  8. Eurydice says:

    Yikes! Is someone annoyed that Edward’s poll numbers are going up?

  9. Concern Fae says:

    I think people are underestimating how crazy making it would be to have people surrounding you, doing everything for you. Especially if they had their own agenda and didn’t work for you, but on behalf of your family. As for it being easy to just go out and shake hands, I remember Diana saying it was like going to a wedding every day – as the bride. Yes, the bride is the center of attention, but that means people snarking on her choices as well as people being happy for her and appreciating the work.

    Yes, these are terrible people, but more importantly, it’s a terrible system. Historically, Charles would have killed off his brothers by now.

    • Jais says:

      It’s a terrible system. 🎯

      • Underhill says:

        Needs a serious downsizing. In staff.

      • Dee says:

        Needs a serious downsizing in budget. Cut the funds and most of the “family” will find other work. Keep on one as a figurehead to fulfill the necessary obligations. Everyone else needs a new career.

  10. Seraphina says:

    I think he looks like his mother, especially in that profile picture. And I whole heartedly agree with @ Josephine: They also all know that they don’t have to do anything to maintain it. It’s a con, a sham, and that makes for some very bizarre behavior, incredibly arrogant and entitled….
    But I disagree with they don’t think they deserve it – I believe they do think they deserve it but since they really don’t have to do anything to maintain it – why bother????

  11. Tessa says:

    I remember being annoyed at William and Charles having incandescent fits over Edward’s cameras at st Andrews. Will had his incandesence issues back then and never changed

  12. EasternViolet says:

    He beats his dogs. That’s all you need to know about this trash.

    • MissF says:

      Yes, I distinctly remember one incident being recorded, and the vile twat was facing a 50k GBP fine/and or six months in prison. He and his arrogant, insipid wife are well suited in the unhinged rage department!

    • ncboudicca says:

      Ugh, I didn’t know that. Disgusting.

    • QuiteContrary says:

      Ugh. I had to look that up. It made me sick to my stomach.

    • Lady Esther says:

      OK I was going to make some snarky comments because I’m at an airport and am thoroughly bored – the only thing that would make me look at an Edward post – but now I’m out. I can’t with animal abuse (see also: Anne)

    • Roan Inish says:

      Which one? Edward or William?

  13. Nanea says:

    “He can sometimes be arrogant…”
    Only sometimes. Right. Mostly when he’s out in public.

    ” …but he is never openly condescending towards people.”
    Unlike Big Sis, I presume.
    How… reassuring.

    Good to know that the taxpayers fund the Edinburgh-Wessexes so undeservingly well that they can afford 120 rooms, a huge estate and then some. Plus Sofiesta’s cheap-looking, ill-fitting designer clobber.

  14. Becks1 says:

    To everyone saying that Edward doesn’t look at all like Phillip and Phillip was handsome – google pictures of Edward as a younger man. He was the best looking one of the Queen’s children. The Windsor genes kicked in though as he aged. Phillip aged pretty well – yes, at the end he looked sick and frail and like death, but that was at ages 95, 98, 99. Even in his 80s he was still handsome. he definitely aged the best.

    As for being arrogant and thoughtless – I feel like all of those people are. They were born into a family that thinks it is higher than everyone else because of their bloodline. They live in literal castles, their job is to greet the public and be welcomed with applause and excitement wherever they go. Walking to church gets them cheers.

    The surprise isn’t that Edward is arrogant, its that a few of them like Harry managed to escape that mindset.

  15. Amy Bee says:

    The country should take pity on these people and let them go. There is absolutely nothing positive about being a royal or having a royal family.

  16. TN Democrat says:

    Wonder what Will-not has done now to warrant an Ed hit piece as cover-up?

  17. MsIam says:

    I guess Charles (or Crocmilla) commissioned a hit piece on Edward since he and Sophie are going to that ceremony this week in the king’s place. Have to always remind Edward he’s a nobody. You gotta love this family, they just exude warmth and kindness towards each other. /s

  18. Underhill says:

    You have to laugh at the incessant attempts of the RR to find one, just one, of the old queens’s offspring that wasn’t horrid, for some reason or other. And they can’t. But they keep trying.

  19. MaryContrary says:

    I know it’s a lot to dismantle the whole system at this point-but really, they are absolutely of no value in the modern age. It’s just so silly to pretend that they are helping or lifting up or bringing awareness. They’re a drain on the taxpayer and pointless.

  20. Lau says:

    Honestly I think The Crown (before it went off the rails) did a pretty good job at showing us a young Edward. In the episode where QEII and Philip decide who their favourite child is and Edward comes in and is portrayed as thoughtless and arrogant.

  21. QuiteContrary says:

    It must be miserable living a lie.

    That said, I won’t ever get over that incident in which Edward told a Black transit employee to step back from QEII when the gentleman was simply trying to demonstrate to the queen how a ticket machine worked. It just reeked of racism and classism.

    • Blithe says:

      And Edward put his hand on the employee. I was shocked when I saw that video. In contrast, the Queen seemed quite at ease and curious about the process of using the fare machine. Those few seconds made Edward look thoughtless, arrogant, and racist. The employee had actually stepped forward and slightly closer to the Queen as he was helping her and responding to her question. Good on him for appearing to just ignore Edward. The employee deserves at least a shiny medal for that.

  22. Renae says:

    Eddie who?

  23. olivia says:

    It feels like a “paving the way for something else” article.. and yeah, as someone mentioned maybe it is to lower the bar for William, or Edward did something that will bubble up soon.

    Wasn’t his daughter the Next Best Thing according to royals? 😛 a bunch of losers the lot of them.

  24. tamsin says:

    It is puzzling that seemingly out of nowhere Charles gives new honours to the members of the drab four: Camilla, William and Kate. Kate’s especially seems to be an afterthought, and really only to the British are these honours not absurd.

  25. Raster says:

    As the Queen’s youngest, he is the baby of the family and yet Andrew was considered the favorite. With the sibling age gap, it is likely the two were very close growing up and it appears they still are, pictured riding horses together relatively recently. Given the scandalous and bizarre Andrew with his 72 teddy bears on his bed, Edward is quite basic as far as we know. Will Edward be a key ally to support Andrew repairing his image and possibly re-entering as a working royal?

  26. SenseOfTheAbsurd says:

    When Ingrid Seward et al come out with this arse-licking drivel, I like to imagine it as read by David Attenborough, for the LOLs.

  27. Kake says:

    What I loved about this piece is how it demonstrates the true mean girl writer Seward actually is! Eddie, you’re out of touch, you’re irrelevant, and no one likes you, but your jacket’s nice. Why she’s still given a platform is beyond me.

  28. DetachedObserver says:

    I see a lot of his maternal grandfather in the way Edward looks today, sans the hair.