From his vantage point, royal butler Grant Harrold said he never saw any issues between Prince Harry and the royal familyâand said that Harry and brother Prince William seemed supportive of their father Prince Charlesâs 2005 marriage to Camilla Parker Bowles.
Prince William, Queen Camilla, Prince Harry, and King Charles in 2009.
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Speaking to The Telegraph ahead of the publication of his book The Royal Butler: My Remarkable Life of Royal Service, Harrold said that when he started working as a butler to the future King Charlesâwhom Harrold called âvery gentleââCharles and Camilla were still living apart, but they spent ample time together. When they married in 2005, Harrold said that Charles was the âhappiestâ he had ever seen him.
After they married, âCharles and Camilla were catching a flight to head straight to Birkhall [on the Balmoral estate],â Harrold wrote. âWe all went outside to wave them off and laughed as we saw William and Harry had decorated their car with âJust Married.ââ
âAs they drove off through the arches to cheers, the boys raced after the car,â Harrold added.
King Charles and Queen Camilla on their 2005 wedding day.
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Harroldâs retelling of the events of that April day 20 years ago differs from Harryâs, who wrote in Spareâhis 2023 memoirâthat he had âcomplex feelingsâ about Camilla marrying his father, adding that William did, too.
ââWe support you,ââ Harry wrote. ââWe endorse Camilla,â we said. âJust please donât marry her. Just be together, Pa.â He didnât answer. But she answered. Straight away.â
Queen Camilla, King Charles, Prince William, and Prince Harry in 2017.
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âShortly after our private summits with her, she began to play the long game, a campaign aimed at marriage and eventually the Crown (with Paâs blessing, we presumed),â Harry continued.
Harrold added that Charles, Camilla, William, and Harry âgot on so well,â which is why Harryâs account of his rift with the royal family has been so confusing to the former royal butler.
âThe four of them, I promise you, got on so well,â Harrold said. âAnd thatâs why I donât understand what Harryâs said. I really donât understand.â
Prince William, Queen Camilla, King Charles, and Prince Harry in 2014.
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âI saw them having dinners together, I saw them having drinks together, I saw them going to parties together,â Harrold continued, adding that he saw âno animosityâ between Harry and his immediate family during his time as a royal butler.
âThe King used to do things to make them laugh and giggle,â Harrold said. Of the King specifically, Harrold added that Charles was âvery calmâ and âdidnât once raise his voiceâ when he worked with him: âHe works hard and he doesnât suffer fools,â Harrold said. âHe gets on with everyone. He does get perceived as out of touch, and heâs not.â