You may have forgotten that Prince Edward once had a non-royal job, as he founded and headed up TV production company, Ardent, which he worked on from 1993 to 2002. The business was based on Edward’s £30 million Bagshot Park estate, in converted horse stables away from the main house.
The Grade II-listed office building usually requires rent, and has since been listed as a rental; however, when Edward’s company took up residence there, the royal decided to waive the majority of the costs.
The Telegraph reports that costs of £108,500 have been absolved by Edward and Sophie privately. King Charles’ brother only pays “peppercorn rent” at the sprawling estate, in a similar setup that his brother Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor used to have. Peppercorn rent is a term used to describe a small, nominal rent, such as one peppercorn, to satisfy a legal requirement for a contract to be binding, but essentially, it means rent-free.
But this generous gesture of Edward paying the rent for his company did not prevent the ultimate liquidation of the business in 2009. Ardent Productions was considered a “sad joke” to those in the industry, according to The Guardian in 2002, and it didn’t make the royal family very happy either…
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The royal family disapproved
The company ruffled feathers within royal circles because of Edward’s production company’s focus on royalty. Ahead of setting up his own business, he was working with Stuart Samuelson and Edward came up with The Grand Knockout Tournament, better known as It’s A Royal Knockout, which was televised in June 1987. It saw the likes of Prince Edward, Princess Anne, former Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson, former Duchess of York dress up for a medieval tournament with a host of celebrities. Despite the event raising over £1.5 million for charity, it was later reported that the late Queen had disapproved of the event and all of her courtiers had advised against it. Side note: this story may be familiar to you because it’s awfully similar to the recent plotline in Rivals.
© Getty ImagesThe Ardent film crew later allegedly invaded the privacy of Prince William while he was a student at the University of St Andrews in 2001. In 2002, Edward stepped down from his role at the company to carry out his royal duties full-time alongside his wife, Duchess Sophie, providing support to Queen Elizabeth II. Ardent Productions was voluntarily dissolved in June 2009, with assets reduced to just £40.
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