Prince Harry and Prince William haven’t seen eye-to-eye in a long time. And things have gotten so bad that it looks like they might never recover from where they are now.
But whatever you thought you knew about their years-long feud, well, think again. Because according to a new book that’s just about to hit store shelves, the royal fam’s longtime former butler sees this whole thing TOTALLY differently. Ruh-roh…
Okay, so, you might already know about former royal butler Grant Harrold and his forthcoming book, aptly titled The Royal Butler. The 47-year-old worked for the royal fam for a looong time, and his memoir will detail all of his experiences with the Windsors when it’s released on September 23.
Related: William Jokes About ‘Getting Drunk’ With Eugene Levy In Unexpected Cameo For Travel Show!
But in a pre-release interview with Page Six on Tuesday, he spilled new tea! Harrold was King Charles III‘s butler between 2004 and 2011 — back when Charles was the Prince of Wales, and his mother Queen Elizabeth was still alive. The author recalled how William and Harry were incredibly close during that time:
“The two of them were not just the best of friends, they were inseparable. At Highgrove [Charles’ private residence], they were always together. They were walking together, in the pub together, on motorbikes together. Very rarely did they do stuff separately.”
But according to the former palace staffer, things changed at some point in the summer of 2016. And ya know what else happened in the summer of 2016?! Harry met Meghan Markle. Ohhhhh, boy. Yep. Here we go.
Harrold noted:
“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 organization, but the problem is that Meghan was with him when it happened. The biggest change in Harry’s life is Meghan.”
So is it Meghan’s fault that Harry and William are going through the saddest and deepest falling-out ever?! Er… no. Not necessarily. See, Harrold says he also believes “something bigger happened” between Harry and William. Like, beyond Meghan supposedly driving a rift in between them?! Yep!
The ex-butler said:
“I was genuinely shocked when they [William and Harry] fell out. There must be something deeper going on that we’re not being told.”
Whoa!!!
He’s so sure a woman couldn’t have come between them. We wonder what other shocking thing it could be…
Through it all, Harrold said one of the root issues in Harry and Meghan’s estrangement from the royal family is the fact that the king can’t trust his youngest son due to what’s gone on in the past:
“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. He’s done what household members typically do and spilled the beans.”
Harrold noted how a family member like Harry allegedly leaking things to the outside world is totally unforgivable:
“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. If they reconcile, then fall out again, what’s to say there won’t be another book, Netflix series or interview about it?”
Ouch…
There are more Meghan issues here, too. The former butler recalled how the El Lay native really butted heads with members of the royal fam after she married Harry in 2018, allegedly because she wouldn’t do things their way. One time, the actress wanted to host some pals for lunch on the same day she was supposed to carry out a royal engagement. But the royal diary is set half-a-year in advance! You can’t just skip out on it at the last minute to have lunch! Harrold explained:
“She would rather have lunch with her friends, thinking that was fine and it wasn’t. That’s not how it works. You can’t change it. She obviously thought she could come in and do her thing, and you can’t.”
The ex-butler offered up a particularly cutting quote when it came to his overall take on Markle, too:
“I think the problem with Meghan is that she went into the organization and she assumed that after watching all the Disney princesses that she thought it was going to be like that. When you join the royal family, you are given rules and protocols to follow.”
Yikes!
In the end, Harrold may be the last butler to ever have this kind of access to the royal family — because William isn’t keen on keeping as many staffers around in the future! Harrold said he expects the 43-year-old to scrap a few long-standing formalities once he becomes monarch, including cutting down significantly on the number of working royals to just his and Princess Catherine‘s children! The author gave his theory about what things may look like:
“The reality is, when George, Charlotte, and Louis become of age and start getting involved, the monarchy will be the Prince and Princess of Wales and their three children only. The monarchy will get more fragile as the years go on, and it’s changing. It’s become more of a celebrity thing than a historical firm. Harry was the first celebrity royal.”
And that slimmed-down version of the royal fam includes a lot fewer helpers and assistants, too. After all, William and Catherine already haven’t had a butler for many years. And you should expect that to continue, Harrold said! He explained:
“I wanted to butler, to look after them, and they didn’t want any of it. They wanted to do stuff themselves. They were carrying their own stuff, doing their own washing up, their own cooking. They are very much still like that. [William] is very hands-on. To this day, I’m the only one that has ever done any butlering for him.”
Whew. So there you have it. Let’s just say we can’t wait for this book to come out in a couple weeks!
What about U, Perezcious readers?! Share your takes (below)!
[Image via MEGA/WENN]
The post 'Something Deeper Going On' Between Prince Harry & Prince William, Says Former Royal Butler appeared first on Perez Hilton.