'Ballistic' King Charles 'Berated' Brother Prince Edward for Attempting to Capture Footage of Prince William at College, Royal Expert Claims

King Charles wasn't too happy with brother Prince Edward using his production company to obtain footage of Prince William while he attended classes at the University of St Andrews in 2001.

According to royal expert Robert Jobson, the monarch, 77, was "furious" over the situation — so much so, he enlisted Queen Elizabeth to help with the debacle.

When William 43, began college at the time, the palace and the media made an agreement that stated the latter could film his entry into the school, but they would leave him alone when he was studying.

However, Edward's TV company, Ardent Productions, didn't abide by the rule and set up cameras at the university and attempted to get footage of the Duke of Cambridge departing a lecture hall.

"The program was understood to be keeping Ardent afloat. Desperate times seem to have called for desperate measures for Prince Edward," Jobson wrote in his 2006 biography of William.

"William was furious. He felt his uncle’s company’s actions had threatened to undermine the carefully nurtured relationship between St James’ Palace and the media, and in turn that it would threaten the entente cordiale between him and the press," the author went on.

When the story surfaced, Charles "understandably went ballistic" and "berated" Edward, 62, for his actions.

Charles then "furiously demanded" the queen tell the Duke of Edinburgh "to choose once and for all between his public duties and his television company."

"Many believed [the production company] was little more than a vanity project dependent on Edward’s title for what little success it had," Jobson penned.

As a result of the incident, Edward and Charles' relationship soured and "plummeted to an all-time low."

The palace "publicly criticized Edward for his idiocy and the behavior of his production company," with the former Prince of Wales admitting he was "disappointed" with his younger brother.

Ardent Productions said in a statement at the time that Edward was not aware of the crew setting up camp in Scotland to procure footage of his nephew. They alleged that once the former Earl of Wessex knew of the situation, he ordered the production team to cease filming.

Edward launched the company in 1993 to produce documentaries but stepped down from the organization in 2002. Ardent Productions later dissolved in June 2009.

Despite the royal strife between Edward and Charles in 2001, the brothers still appear to be close, as the Duke is currently a strong working member of The Firm.