A former royal butler has gushed over the Prince and Princess of Wales, including how friendly the two were in their early relationship.
Former Royal butler Grant Harrold worked for King Charles for seven years after a six-month long interview process to gain a position in the royal household. Speaking exclusively to Slingo, Grant shares his typical day-to-day duties as a butler, and recalls the early stages of Prince William and Kate Middleton’s relationship.
William and Kate met during their time at St Andrews University where they shared a house with two other university friends, and the rest is history. The couple were friends for a few years before making their relationship official, and tied the knot with the eyes of the world upon them at Westminster Abbey in 2011.
“When I first met Kate, I knew there was something very special about her. I knew there was possibly something that I wanted to explore there,” William said in their engagement interview. “We ended up being friends for a while, and that just sort of was a good foundation.
"Because I do generally believe now that being friends with one another is a massive advantage. And it just went from there.”
After working for Prince Charles for a number of years, Grant was around William and Kate during the early days of their relationship and had nothing but good things to say. Speaking of the future King and Queen, he said: “Oh, like any boyfriend and girlfriend. Not any different to anyone else, it’s mad saying that when you think about who they are, but there wasn’t anything different.
"What I liked was that Kate, being a girlfriend and obviously not a member of the family, would be with me and the other staff and she was so polite, friendly, and fun and making jokes.
"I remember there were days I had off where I’d be running an errand or I’d left something up at Highgrove [House] and they were around, so you’d just catch up with them.
“It was always fun and it was always nice that I got on so well with them because they’d then ask me to travel the country with them. When my phone used to go off and it was William, all my friends would be like that’s so cool, but to me it was normal."
Speaking of his close bond with the entire Royal Family, Grant added: "That was the relationship I had with them. I think it was really special and not unusual, actually, because in a private home you’re expected to get on with the family.
"As for the younger members of the family, you’re not employed by them, but you end up having a relationship with them as well. There’s very few people that the Royals actually get to know, so you do feel lucky that you were trusted with that.”
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