37. From a young age, Edward was told he would never measure up to his father, Prince Albert
Some of Prince Edward’s biographers believe his relationship with his parents had a profound impact on his later life. Both Queen Victoria and her husband Prince Albert were highly protective of their son and were determined to protect him from the ‘corrupting’ influences of wider society. Naturally, he would rebel in later life and enjoy a life of decadence. At the same time, Victoria made it clear that Edward would never be half the man her husband was. After Albert’s death, Victoria even became resentful of her inferior son. She famously wrote to her daughter: “I never can, or shall, look at him without a shudder.”