![\"Grant](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/0_Grant-Harrold-2.jpg\")
King Charles’ former butler Grant Harrold has lifted the lid on his verdict on the bitter war between William and Harry(Image: PR HANDOUT)<\/p>\nKing Charles’ former butler has lifted the lid on what goes on behind closed Palace doors, unveiling his first impressions on a young Kate Middleton and sharing the brutal truth about William and Harry’s rift<\/p>\n
18:22, 21 Aug 2025Updated 18:22, 21 Aug 2025<\/p>\n
King Charles’ former butler Grant Harrold has lifted the lid on his verdict on the bitter war between William and Harry(Image: PR HANDOUT)<\/p>\n
Effortlessly beautiful, her natural elegance matched only by her obvious intelligence, Kate Middleton<\/a> was just 22, but royal butler Grant Harold knew she was a \u201cqueen in waiting.\u201d<\/p>\n One of King Charles<\/a> \u2019 trusted butlers for seven years – spent mainly at Highgrove – he is uniquely placed to reveal what really goes on behind the palace gates.<\/p>\n He tells The Mirror<\/a> : \u201cThat girl was a Queen in waiting in every aspect. She is the perfect Queen material and you can so obviously see that. Everything about her – the way she carried herself, the way she spoke, the way she interacted with people, her kindness, her beauty – she was, if I can say, the modern day Princess Diana<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n READ MORE: King Charles and Queen Camilla searching for jobseeker with eye for ‘complex’ issues<\/a>READ MORE: Prince Harry’s secret royal move speak volumes after ‘peace talks’ with top aides<\/a> In his new book The Royal Butler: My Remarkable Life of Royal Service , Grant – who worked with the royals between 2004 and 2011 – mainly as a butler for King Charles, but occasionally seconded to work for Queen Elizabeth – first met Kate during the early years of her romance with Prince William<\/a>.<\/p>\n Comparing her humour to that of Princess Di, he continues: \u201cDiana used to do things at Sandringham to make the staff laugh by poking her head out the window and pulling faces, and Kate was doing the same kind of thing. She is everything you can imagine, she is a beautiful and intelligent woman.\u201d<\/p>\n Grant, a Scot, had wanted to work for the royal family<\/a> ever since a childhood dream, in which he was dancing with Queen Elizabeth and spent most of his time with them in Highgrove, the stunning Gloucestershire palace that King Charles shared with William and Harry.<\/p>\n Contrasting his reception from Kate and William, who he says “took a while” to trust him, he recalls how Prince Harry<\/a> greeted him for the first time with a water balloon fight.<\/p>\n Recalling how tight knit the princes were back then, he says: \u201cWilliam and Harry were so close, as brothers go. With many siblings, you can be close as children and then maybe drift a bit as you grow up in your late teens and early 20s, but William and Harry were the opposite.<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t know if it’s because of their mother\u2019s death, but they were inseparable. They were hanging out together, going to pubs together, just having fun together.<\/p>\n \u201cIf I had been told all those years ago that they were going to fall out, I would\u2019ve bet \u00a3100 that it would never happen. Even when the rumours (of a rift) first started, I was saying publicly to the press that they would never fall out, that\u2019s how sure I was.<\/p>\n \u201cAnd when all the conflict really started, I was asking myself \u2018Why has this all gone so badly wrong?\u2019 I couldn\u2018t wrap my head around it. Now they\u2019re not even speaking to each other, and they used to speak all the time. It\u2019s really sad.\u201d<\/p>\n Grant also believes that any reconciliation between the princes may happen away from the spotlight. He says: \u201cI think families fall out and families can heal, but it\u2019s never the same. So yes I can see a reconciliation, I can see Harry coming back, but not in the Firm as it used to be.<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t see Harry and Meghan ever on the Palace balcony for Trooping the Colour for example, but I can see the family patching things up behind closed doors and working towards the King seeing his grandchildren [Archie and Lilibet]. I think that’s what they’re trying to work towards. I think they could be thinking \u2018Let’s just be a family behind closed doors and move on from this rift from our point of view, not from the public\u2019s point of view\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n Despite hoping for a reunion between the Sussexes and the wider Windsor family, Grant went on to say that \u201cthings are such a mess right now\u201d, and admitted: \u201cI think we have to accept that there is a real possibility that we may never see them as a united family in public.\u201d<\/p>\n But he reveals King Charles to be an exceptionally compassionate man and believes he may be the orchestrator of any reconciliation in the future, saying: \u201cThe thing that surprised me was how genuine and nice he was.\u201d<\/p>\n He recalls how he would be in the middle of serving dinner, saying: \u201cI would hear \u2018Oh and how are you today?\u2019 and I\u2019d ignored him (King Charles) because I thought he was talking to the guests.<\/p>\n \u201cThen he\u2019d say my name and ask me again, and then he\u2019d start saying \u2018How\u2019s your mum? How\u2019s your papa? How\u2019s your brother? How\u2019s your home?\u2019<\/p>\n \u201cIf I was having something done, he\u2019d always know and remember what was going on. He\u2019d say \u2018Did that thing get done in your house?\u2019 His kindness and compassion would catch me off guard every single time.\u201d<\/p>\n Certain that Harry will have kept up some kind of communication with his father, in light of his illness, Grant continues: \u201cCharles is a very compassionate man. So, even if William – as the big brother – is angry at what Harry has done and maybe has more reservations about meeting up with Harry, I think the King, at this point in his life, will be thinking \u2018Let\u2019s look at the bigger picture. Life\u2019s too short, and family is all you\u2019ve got\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n He also believes Harry will want to heal the rift with the king. He says: \u201cI think Harry does want to reunite with his father, because at the end of the day, Harry is aware that his father has not been a very well man, because they were very close and that doesn\u2019t always change.\u201d<\/p>\n Clearly a big fan of the King, Grant recalls a touching moment when he introduced him to the late Queen at a banquet at Kew palace.<\/p>\n Laughing, he says: \u201cI\u2019ll never forget, I was so focused on the job, and so overwhelmed and excited to be on her service and I was thinking, \u2018Don\u2019t do anything wrong, Grant. Don\u2019t put down the wrong plate, don’t drop the sauce, don’t overfill the glass,\u2019 all these things.<\/p>\n \u201cI remember going over to offer the Queen the vegetables and suddenly Charles looks around at the Queen and over to me and says \u2018Oh Mummy this is Grant, my newest butler\u2019. And I’m thinking \u2018Oh god not now, not over the vegetables!\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n In light of the news that William and Kate, along with their three children George, Charlotte and Louis, are set to relocate to Forest Lodge on the Windsor estate, from their current home Adelaide Cottage, Grant shares his thoughts on the fate of Buckingham Palace<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen it comes to William, he is used to smaller houses like Highgrove, because he didn\u2019t grow up in the huge palaces or castles,\u201d says Grant. \u201cSo I think there\u2019ll be a transition where Windsor becomes the hub of the monarchy.<\/p>\n \u201cAs Forest Lodge is on the Windsor estate, that whole area will become the royal HQ. And then Buckingham Palace could just be open year round as a tourist hotspot, while also operating as the royal office, because it is such a landmark of the royal institution.<\/p>\n \u201cSo, I think Windsor will become the embodiment of the Firm as William and Kate move into their forever home. Living in Forest Lodge will be a lot cheaper than living in Buckingham Palace. Also, William has long championed homelessness causes, and it’s a bit hard to support the homeless when you\u2019re living in your massive castle, so I think he\u2019s aware of that.<\/p>\n Grant Harrold\u2019s book T<\/strong>he Royal Butler: My Remarkable Life of Royal Service <\/strong>is available from August 28th.<\/strong><\/p>\n Get the inside scoop on the monarchy with Mirror Royal<\/p>\n WHATSAPP GROUP: <\/strong>Be first to get the biggest royal bombshells and exclusives to your phone by joining our Royal WhatsApp here<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don\u2019t like our community, you can check out any time you like. If you\u2019re curious, you can read our Privacy Notice<\/a>.<\/p>\n![\"Kate](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/2_new-canva-2025-07-14T075133235.jpg\")
Former royal butler Grant Harrold saw Kate Middleton’s royal potential from the start(Image: Getty)<\/p>\n![\"Prince](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/0_TOPSHOT-BRITAIN-ROYALS-DIANA-STATUE.jpg\")
Grant said throughout their teenage years, William and Harry “just had fun together”(Image: POOL\/AFP via Getty Images)<\/p>\n![\"King](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/2_GettyImages-455186244.jpg\")
The former butler said Charles’ compassion could hold the key to a reunion with Harry<\/p>\n![\"Grant](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/0_Grant-Harrold-1JPG.jpg\")
Grant Harrold’s new book The Royal Butler: My Remarkable Life of Royal Service, details his seven years working for the Firm(Image: PR HANDOUT)<\/p>\n![\"Queen](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/0_17-Queen-and-Grant-Copyright-Anna-Phillipsjpg-EditedJPG.jpg\")
Grant’s first meeting with the late Queen was hilariously awkward(Image: Anna Phillips)<\/p>\n![\"Princess](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/1_BESTPIX-Their-Majesties-King-Charles-III-And-Queen-Camilla-Coronation-Day.jpg\")
The former butler believes Windsor may become “monarchy HQ” when William ascends the throne(Image: UK Press via Getty Images)<\/p>\n