In the beginning of the 1920s, the Hong Kong government was developing the Mong Kok district and decided to build a road connecting this to Kowloon City.

Boundary Street serves as its complement by providing a nearby route which runs from west to east.

Prince Edward Road East was once misspelled as "Princess Edward Road East" by MTR Corporation in the map describing Sha Tin to Central Link (from Diamond Hill station to Kai Tak).

[1] On 9 May 2005, a dozen stacks of shelving on a construction site next to the road fell off due to adverse weather conditions.

The relevant section of the road was closed, leading to a severe disruption of traffic among East Kowloon, and affecting more than 100,000 people.