King Charles III’s former butler, who served the monarch for seven years, said he was surprised by Prince Harry‘s claims in “Spare.”
Grant Harrold has written a memoir, “The Royal Butler: My Remarkable Life in Royal Service,” where he details his time working with and befriending king Charles and Queen Camilla. The etiquette expert told Fox News Digital he was stunned when he first read Harry’s 2023 memoir, where the Duke of Sussex described his struggles with royal life.
“I’ve openly talked about this because … his memories and mine are very different,” said Harrold.”You think we [were] in two different households as I talked about this happy family … with his stepmother and everything. He’s saying he didn’t. I never witnessed that.”
PRINCE HARRY SAYS ‘CONSCIENCE IS CLEAR’ AFTER WRITING EXPLOSIVE ROYAL TELL-ALL MEMOIR
Former Royal Butler Says prince Harry Always Seemed ‘Content’ Despite ‘Spare’ Revelations
Table of Contents
- Former Royal Butler Says prince Harry Always Seemed ‘Content’ Despite ‘Spare’ Revelations
- royal Butler Reveals ‘Very Different’ Memories Then Prince Harry in New Memoir
- Prince Harry accuses Camilla of orchestrating media leaks to rehabilitate image
- King Charles Was ‘Hands-On’ With Harry and William Despite Divorce, Expert Says
Prince Harry’s bombshell memoir, “Spare,” detailed a number of grievances and personal struggles, including a strained relationship with his brother, Prince William, and his feelings surrounding his mother’s death and his father’s remarriage. However, a former royal butler says he never witnessed any unhappiness from the Duke of Sussex during his time as a working royal.
Grant Harrold, who served as a royal butler to King Charles and Princess Diana from 2005 to 2011, and also worked with Prince Harry and Prince William, told Fox News Digital that Harry always appeared “content” and “happy” during his years in the royal household.
“I never saw any unhappiness from him,” Harrold said. “He was always very polite, very kind, and always seemed to be enjoying himself.”
In “spare,” Harry describes in detail his sibling rivalry with his brother William, heir to the British throne, and the death of their mother. In the opening chapter, Harry wrote that his father, then Prince Charles, broke the news of his mother’s accident but didn’t hug his son. He also wrote that he and William both “begged” their father not to marry Camilla, worried she would become a “wicked stepmother.”
Harrold stressed he never witnessed any unhappiness from Harry during his time as a working royal.The Duke of Sussex and his wife stepped back as senior royals in 2020 and moved to California.The couple cited the unbearable intrusions of the British press and a lack of support from the palace as their reasons for leaving.
It’s unknown if the father of two simply kept his private thoughts about his royal life to himself until now, Harrold noted.
royal Butler Reveals ‘Very Different’ Memories Then Prince Harry in New Memoir
Former royal butler Grant Harrold is sharing his own recollections of life within the walls of Buckingham Palace in his new memoir,”The Royal Butler: My remarkable Life in Royal Service.” And according to Harrold, his experiences don’t entirely align with those detailed in prince Harry’s explosive book, “Spare.”
“My memories are definitely very different from his,” said Harrold. “It’s almost as if it were a different household, but it wasn’t. That was his household, it was his home. And it’s where I spent a lot of time as well.”
“It’s fascinating because the queen said, ‘recollections may vary,'” Harrold continued.
Harrold served as a butler to both Queen Elizabeth II and king Charles III, and his role provided him with a unique vantage point within the royal family.He explained that while Harry’s outlook is valid, it’s critically important to remember it’s just one perspective.
“He’s telling his truth, and that’s fine. But it’s his truth. It’s not necessarily the truth,” Harrold clarified. “There are a lot of people involved in these situations, and everyone sees things differently.”
He added that the royal family operates under a strict code of discretion, and that what is shared publicly is ofen carefully curated. “There’s a lot that goes on behind the scenes that people don’t know about,” he said. “And a lot of it is just…different.”
Harrold’s memoir promises an inside look at the daily life of the royal family, offering a glimpse into the traditions, protocols, and personal dynamics that shape the monarchy. It’s a perspective he hopes will provide a more nuanced understanding of the institution and the people within it.
Prince Harry accuses Camilla of orchestrating media leaks to rehabilitate image
Prince Harry has repeatedly accused Queen Camilla of actively working to improve her public image through leaks to the media, even suggesting she was willing to sacrifice others to achieve it. In his memoir, “Spare,” and in subsequent interviews, Harry detailed what he described as a calculated effort by Camilla to rehabilitate her image following her long-term affair with then-Prince Charles.
In televised interviews prior to the book’s release in January 2023, Harry accused Camilla of leaking private conversations to the press. He claimed members of the royal family engaged with the tabloids, getting “into bed with the devil” to secure positive coverage. He specifically highlighted Camilla’s actions as notably damaging.
“That made her hazardous because of the connections that she was forging within the British press,” Harry,41,told CBS. “There was open willingness on both sides to trade information. And with a family built on hierarchy, and with her on the way to being queen consort, there was gonna be people or bodies left in the street.”
Harry previously stated he possessed enough material for two memoirs but refrained from including everything, fearing his father and brother would “ever forgive” him. These accusations against Camilla represent some of the most pointed criticisms within his public disclosures about the royal family.
Prince William and Prince Harry playfully decorated King Charles and Queen Camilla’s car with a “Just Married” sign after their 2005 wedding.
The anecdote was shared by a former member of the king’s household, detailing the scene as the newlyweds prepared to depart for Birkhall. After the festivities, Charles and camilla headed to catch a flight, and William and Harry took it upon themselves to add a touch of humor to the occasion.
“At the end of the festivities, Charles and Camilla were catching a flight to head straight to birkhall,” he recalled. “We all went outside to wave them off and laughed as we saw William and Harry had decorated their car with ‘Just Married.’ As they drove off through the arches to cheers, the boys raced after the car, followed by the media.”
King Charles Was ‘Hands-On’ With Harry and William Despite Divorce, Expert Says
Despite public perception, king Charles was a very involved father to Prince William and Prince Harry, even after his divorce from princess Diana.
“A lot of people assume that he wasn’t hands-on, or he wasn’t around,” explained royal author and commentator Jennie Bond to Fox News digital. “Yes, his duties were very different, especially after the divorce, to what Princess Diana was doing. But equally, they both made time for the boys. They both were hands-on, they both did things in their own way. Diana might have taken them to a water park, such as, but the king would [also] take them up to Balmoral to do a bit of shooting or fishing in the countryside, which they loved.”
The differing parenting styles complemented each other, ensuring both princes had a well-rounded upbringing despite their parents’ separation.
“He wasn’t trying to be a mother, of course, but he was trying to fill a gap, a space that their mother’s death had left,” Harrold explained. “He was definitely trying, not to replace her, but to fill that space.”
Harrold continued,recalling that King Charles,despite receiving “a degree,from his father,” was a hands-on parent. “But when I was there, I did witness a father who was hands-on. He was very funny with them. He was very sweet with them. And he definitely tried to fill a gap, 100 percent. He was trying to fill that space their mother’s death had left. He was definitely trying, not to replace her, but to fill that space.”
King Charles is seen here speaking with his sons after attending the Sovereign’s parade at the Royal Military Academy in Sandhurst, southern England on April 12, 2006. (Carl de Souza/AFP via Getty Images)