Grant Harrold, who served as a royal butler for then-Prince Charles at Highgrove from 2004 to 2011, has shared a new account that directly challenges Prince Harry’s version of events regarding his relationship with his stepmother, Queen Camilla.
In a recent interview with The Telegraph about his upcoming book, Harrold reflected on the period leading up to Charles’s second marriage in 2005. He recalled that when he first began working at Highgrove in 2004, Camilla was already a frequent visitor to the Gloucestershire estate, even though she and Charles were not yet officially engaged.
Also around this time – by the butler’s account – William had been studying at St Andrews university, and dating a Berkshire girl named Kate – who we now all know and love as the Princess of Wales.
Harry, at this point, was young and unruly, and looking for someone to entertain him.
In his memoir Spare, Harry has since claimed that these years were particularly painful for he and his brother following the death of their mum, Princess Diana – especially with regards to tensions between themselves and Camilla.
What does Harrold recall about Harry and William’s relationship with Camilla?
Inspite of this, Harrold says that his experience with the royal foursome had been nothing but amicable.
Recalling Charles and Camilla’s wedding, he writes in his new upcoming biography: “At the end of the festivities, [they] were catching a flight to head straight to Birkhall [on the Balmoral estate].
“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.”
During his interview, Harrold goes on to claim he witnessed the King, his wife and his two sons forming a close bond.
“The four of them, I promise you, got on so well,” he explained. “And that’s why I don’t understand what Harry’s said, I really don’t understand. Because I saw them. I saw them having dinners together, I saw them having drinks together, I saw them going to parties together.”
Adding that there was ‘no animosity’ on display between them, Harrold continued: “The King used to do things to make them laugh and giggle.”
Yet, the butler’s claims directly contradict a number of recollections retained in Harry’s 2023 memoir.
What did Prince Harry write about Camilla?
The bad:
In his memoir Spare, Prince Harry openly discusses several prominent figures within the royal family — including his stepmother, Queen Camilla.
He recalls the moment he and his brother Prince William came to terms with Camilla becoming a permanent part of their lives, referring to her as “the other woman.” According to Harry, both he and William urged their father not to marry her.
“Willy and I promised Pa we’d accept Camilla into the family,” he wrote. “All we asked in return was that he not marry her. ‘You don’t need to remarry,’ we said. He didn’t respond — but she did, immediately.”
Harry goes on to suggest that after private conversations with her, Camilla began what he describes as a calculated effort to secure marriage and eventually a royal title, presumably with his father’s support.
He also accuses Camilla of leaking stories to the press about members of the royal family in order to boost her own public image, writing that he felt as though he had been “sacrificed on her personal PR altar.”
The good:
Quotes evidenced so far aren’t to say that Harry refused to give Camilla any credit in his book.
He states often that he understood his father’s love for Camilla – even if this did serve as a threat to his late mother’s legacy.
“We approved of Camilla,” the Prince writes at one point. “We support Pa. We said that. We meant it. It was true.”
At another, Harry rather backhandedly claims to wanting Camilla to find peace with the public, adding: “I even wanted Camilla to be happy. Maybe she’d be less dangerous if she was happy?”
