A member of the Royal Family is “on their way to becoming a national treasure” despite a series of high profile “mistakes”.
Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip’s youngest child, Prince Edward, has “battled unpopularity” his entire life, experts say.
This includes his decision to attend Cambridge University, despite not meeting the entry requirements of most students, and dropping out of the marines a third of the way into a 12-month training programme.
But Edward’s biggest mistake is regarded by many as the decision to run It’s a Royal Knockout – also known as The Grand Knockout Tournament.
It saw four teams of A-list celebrities, captained by Edward, Prince Andrew, Princess Margaret, and Sarah Ferguson, competing against each other in an It’s a Knockout-style tournament at Alton Towers in Staffordshire.
The event’s defining moment came when Edward, addressing journalists in a press tent, said: “I can only hope that you’ve enjoyed yourselves… have you?”
Unbeknownst to the prince, they had not been allowed to watch the event and simply responded by nervously laughing. Edward responded with, “Well thanks for sounding so bloody enthusiastic,” before getting up and walking out of the press conference.
Despite drawing around 18 million viewers and pulling in £1.5 million for charity, the show was seen as a major blow for the Royal Family’s image. It was later revealed that the Queen had not approved the show.
Almost four decades after the unfortunate TV outing, royal experts believe Edward, along with wife Sophie, the Duchess of Edinburgh, have become key members of the Firm.
Speaking on Channel 5’s Edward: 60 Years a Prince, historian Dr Tessa Dunlop believes Edward is now well on his way to becoming a national treasure.
She said: “He’s come good has our Edward, the young ‘un, who had a few difficulties in his time, lest we forget. And now, I think he’s almost on track to become something of a national treasure, which no one would have predicted in the 1980s.”
Richard Kay, a close friend of Princess Diana, says Edward has now become a “safe pair of hands” for the Royal Family.
He said: “It’s hard to believe that only a couple of decades ago Edward’s prospects of any kind of major role in the Royal Family seemed remote to say the least but he has come through. He has become the original safe pair of hands.”
Historian and royal author Kate Williams believes it was marrying Sophie in a low-key wedding ceremony that marked a turning point for Edward. While Charles and Andrew both held large ceremonies at Westminster Abbey, Edward and Sophie had a small ceremony at St George’s Chapel in Windsor Castle.
Williams said: “Edward has been battling unpopularity his whole life, he doesn’t want to be in the spotlight in this way. So he and Sophie have this quiet wedding but the consequence is it created Sophie’s long-term popularity because she didn’t have this giant wedding.
“Marrying Sophie was Edward’s most brilliant idea. There are many royal spouses who have been the making of their husbands and Sophie is absolutely it.”
A 2024 YouGov poll found that Edward was considered the fifth most popular member of the Royal Family.
Only Princess Kate, the late Queen, Prince William and Princess Anne were ranked more popular than Edward.