Amid Prince Harry’s ongoing rift with the royal family, a royal insider is taking a look back at his once-tight relationship with his sister-in-law, Kate Middleton. While they’re reportedly no longer on speaking terms, the pair’s inseparable friendship was even more close-knit than many royal fans knew, according to a former royal butler. In addition to hanging out with Prince William, Kate and Harry reportedly also spent time separately doing everything from running errands to hitting the pub together.
In an excerpt from The Royal Butler: My Remarkable Life of Royal Service shared with The Telegraph on Monday, August 18, Grant Harrold—who spent seven years as the princes’ butler in Highgrove—revealed that Kate and Harry would spend time together when William was busy with his king-to-be duties. “He used to go out with Kate. William would be away, and Kate and Harry would be off doing stuff together,” Harrold told the publication.
Prince William with Kate Middleton and Prince Harry in 2017.
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The pair would “go shopping” and “go to pubs,” especially with Prince Harry’s then-girlfriend Chelsy Davy, whom he dated on and off from 2004 to 2011. “I think when people say, ‘Oh he was left out,’ he really wasn’t,” Harrold explained. “But also, he was with Chelsy. Chelsy was always around. And Chelsy and Kate got on really well.”
Harrold also recalled seeing Prince Harry and Prince Williams’ “close” relationship in action during those years, sharing, “The banter was great. They used to go around being silly with each other and winding each other up, jumping out at their dad from corners and making him laugh. It was just like a family.”
Chelsy Davy and Kate Middleton watch Prince Harry and Prince William play in a charity polo match in 2006.
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Prince Harry previously opened up about his first impression meeting Kate back when she and William were dating at University of St. Andrews. Describing William’s future wife as “carefree, sweet, and kind,” Harry also revealed that Kate had a “heavily disguised silly side.”
Kate Middleton and Prince Harry at the 2012 London Olympics.
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Royal biographer Christopher Andersen previously told The Daily Express that Harry frequently called Kate “the sister he never had,” adding, “They always had this banter. They had similar senses of humor.”
Despite a years-long estrangement from his family, rumors that Prince Harry could be close to reconciling with his father King Charles have been swirling in recent months. Shortly after the Duke of Sussex opened up about his hopes for making amends with his father during a BBC interview in May, senior aides for both Harry and Charles met with each other in London in July.