Edward sat as a temporary judge of the Court of Session in Scotland, hearing civil appeals, until 2009. He was appointed a Knight Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George in 2004, having been made a Companion of that Order in 1981, and in December 2005 was sworn into the Privy Council. He is the Chairman of the Carnegie Trust for the Universities of Scotland and was Chair of the Scottish Council of Independent Schools from 2005 to 2010.