April Fool’s Day is here, and although they might seem like the last people to pull pranks on their employees, former royal butler Grant Harrold says that King Charles and Queen Elizabeth couldn’t resist a practical joke. Speaking on behalf of Heart Bingo Online, Harrold, who worked for The King at Highgrove between 2004 and 2011, shared some of his favorite royal pranks—and they weren't limited to April 1.
Discussing one incident in Scotland, Harrold says, “I remember the head gardener was going out for a walk with King Charles, and the joke was The King wanted us to give him a rucksack full of stones.”
He continues that the royal gardener strapped the heavy backpack on and “could hardly move,” and on top of the rocks inside, a pair of antlers were attached to the back. “The King is involved in this joke and meets the gardener at the back of the house, and I promise you, if you'd seen it, you couldn't stop laughing. It was ridiculous. The way the antlers were positioned were literally at the top of his head.”
After walking “for quite a distance,” the gardener in question “was really struggling,” Harrold says, causing King Charles to take pity on him. “He eventually said, ‘Oh, for God's sake, take that thing off.’”
The former royal butler adds that King Charles and Queen Elizabeth “used to get up to bits of mischief” and “had a good sense of humor,” but Prince Harry “was one of the biggest practical jokers.” Harrold recalls that Harry loved “jumping out and scaring people and winding people up and all that kind of thing.”
Harrold himself once became the target of a prank the late Queen used to play on unsuspecting staff members. “She came up and stopped in front of me and said something inaudible,” Harrold says, admitting he “had no idea what she said.” Since the late Queen “was waiting for an answer,” he eventually replied, “Yes, Your Majesty,” to which she said, “Very good.”
“I didn’t know what I had agreed to,” Harrold recalls. “The chef next to me said, ‘Oh, that’s amazing. She’s never done this before, The Queen normally doesn’t speak to anyone. You’re honored.’”
However, Harrold was later clued in to the joke. “I was told that what The Queen used to do, she would come up to you and she would say something inaudible or something that didn't make sense to see how you reacted,” he shares. “So it was a bit of fun and innocent—it was to catch you off guard.”
