Edward has taken complete command of his life...ever since he left the Marines...and in doing that he became the first child of a Monarch to be an "employee" and have a regular paid job like a normal, non-royal person.
His boss? Andrew Lloyd-Webber, one of the most famous men in the theater world.
The company? The Really Useful Theater Group.
Edward was friends with Biddy Hayward, Lloyd-Webber's executive director, and it was she who essentially got Edward the job. He started work on February 15, 1988. Unfortunately, and totally by accident, Biddy also gave the Press good reason to call Edward, who was a production assistant, the "Royal tea-boy". She told them that Edward, like everyone else, would have to pitch in and make the tea. He was, after all, starting out on the lowest rung of the theatrical ladder.
However, tea bags in hand, the always ambitious Edward was determined not to stay on that bottom rung for long. He soon showed everyone at the company that he was a very good organizer.
And from that Edward became Overseas Co-ordinator. His job was to put things together to make sure the overseas productions of the musicals went well.
Pretty far-cry from tea-boy, wouldn't you say?
As his mother insisted, Edward also kept up his public engagements during this time, even though he was working full time at Really Useful. That had to hurt. I mean to work a full ten hour day, come home, get changed into evening dress and then go again had to be a pain in the neck. By now, however, he's gotta be used to it, for sure.
Edward spent two years at Really Useful, from 1988-1990. Then, something changed, and Edward and six of his co-workers, including Biddy Hayward, eventually left the company because they felt the theater division wasn't forefront in Lloyd-Webber's plans anymore. They formed their own company, called Theater Division, with Edward as technical director, but it failed within a year.
And, as usual, I'm not going into as many details as you'd probably like. I don't want to, quite frankly. I'm just trying to give you an idea of Edward and his life. No more, no less.