Former Buckingham Palace butler Grant Harrold claims that everything in the royal family changed after Prince Harry met ‘Suits’ actress Meghan Markle in July 2016.
Harrold was the butler to King Charles between 2004 and 2011, when his title was Prince of Wales. In his book “The Royal Butler,” Harrold said, “The biggest change in Harry’s life is Meghan.”
Meghan was seen as a disruptor in less than two years of being installed as an official royal.
In an exclusive interview with Page Six, the former butler said, “As soon as Meghan came into his life, everything changed.”
“It could be that Harry had his own awakening and suddenly decided he didn’t like the organisation, but the problem is that Meghan was with him when it happened,” he noted.
In his book set to release on September 23, Harrold noted that there is no coming back for the Sussexes to the royal circle, mostly because of Harry and Meghan’s podcast, book and TV deals
“If they reconcile, then fall out again, what’s to say there won’t be another book, Netflix series or interview about it?” he asked.
“The king doesn’t trust Harry, because of what Harry has said. He worried that he would use it to his advantage. And he has,” the ex-buttler, 47, told Page Six.
He said that Harry did what household members typically do, and spilled the beans. “It’s a big thing for the family to have one of their own do this. They were all so close, and to see that relationship completely destroyed, I do not see them coming back from it.”
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle were wed in a lavish ceremony at St George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle, with both the late Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip in attendance.
In his book, Harrold said Philip couldn’t resist saying one of his trademark one-liners to mark the occasion.
Once all the formalities were over, and everyone was filing out of the chapel, “Prince Philip came out, he turned to the Queen and said, ‘Thank f–k that’s over.’”
“It was very funny. I think he was speaking for the majority of people, but he was the man who actually said it,” the ex-buttler said. “I was standing opposite him and it was so funny,” he told Page Six
Harrold said the comment made the Queen, who passed away in 2022, turn to her husband and grin.