Charles and Edward briefly followed (6)
I believe the answer is:
chased
'followed' is the definition.
(to chase someone is to follow them)
'charles and edward briefly' is the wordplay.
'charles' becomes 'Chas' (shortened form).
'and' says to put letters next to each other.
'edward briefly' becomes 'Ed' (short for Edward; 'briefly' asks for an abbreviation).
'chas'+'ed'='CHASED'
(Other definitions for chased that I've seen before include "Pursued at speed" , "Went after with the intent to catch" , "Engraved; rushed" , "Wooed" , "Pursued, ran after" .)