In recent weeks, former “royal butler” Grant Harrold has been shilling his book all over the British media. Some American outlets have run stories about Harrold and his book as well, presenting him as a royal expert because he worked at Highgrove between 2004-2011. While his book is “new,” his commentary is not – he’s been a paid commentator for years, and it’s his lucrative, post-butler career now. As I said previously, Harrold is very much regurgitating the palace’s talking points and he’s not adding much of anything to the larger narratives. He’s claimed that Prince Harry and then-Kate Middleton got along really well and were constantly “off doing stuff together.” He claimed that Harry got along really well with Camilla, and he claimed (in so many words) that Meghan is “the reason” for Harry and William’s estrangement. Well, now Shuter Scoop claims, shockingly, that King Charles is behind all of Harrold’s BS.
You may or may not have noticed a lot of headlines featuring the words “royal butler” lately, and that’d be because former royal butler Grant Harrold has dropped a book literally called The Royal Butler. And it’s full of behind-the-scenes details about the family.
Now, a palace insider tells Rob Shuter’s Shuter Scoop that King Charles is using the book to “counterattack” Harry. “This is Charles hitting back,” they explain. “Harrold’s book is a direct counterattack on Harry. It’s basically saying: don’t believe him, believe me.”
A friend of Harry’s adds “He knows it’s a takedown. This is the King using loyal old staff to trash his story and make him look bitter and dishonest.”
Meanwhile, Charles’ gardener Jack Stooks has also been singing the praises of his former employer, and another insider claims “They’re a united front. Harrold and Stooks are shaping a narrative where Charles is dignified, Camilla adored, and Harry the unreliable son rewriting history for profit.”
Do I believe that King Charles is, what, sending emails to his former butler and directing Harrold on what to say? Of course not. The reality is even bleaker than that – Harrold is doing all of this of his own accord, because he knows he can sell it to a domestic audience. As I also said previously, these “commentators” don’t understand that there’s an even more lucrative market out there for the truth, and a narrative beyond the palace’s ham-fisted fantasies and talking points. Charles has spent a fortune over the course of decades to force the public to accept Camilla, and it’s still not happening. The British press is basically in revolt against William and Kate this month. And with each passing year, Harry and Meghan look better and smarter for getting the hell away from that sh-tshow.
🗣️'I think Meghan maybe went in thinking she could do things the way she wanted'@CamillaTominey and @timothy_stanley are joined by Grant Harrold (@TheRoyalButler) who suggests when things ‘started to go wrong’ between Meghan and the Royal Family
🎧 Listen from 5 👇… pic.twitter.com/N0xjsurzeW
— The Daily T (@DailyTPodcast) August 22, 2025
Photos courtesy of Avalon Red.
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- Britain’s King Charles reacts as he visits The National Stud in Newmarket, Britain, July 22, 2025.,Image: 1024349985, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: *** NO UK USE FOR 48 HRS ***, Model Release: no, Credit line: Chris Radburn/Avalon
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- Britain’s King Charles and Queen Camilla visit The National Stud in Newmarket, Britain, July 22, 2025.,Image: 1024391272, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: *** NO UK USE FOR 48 HRS ***, Model Release: no, Credit line: Chris Radburn/Avalon
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- Britain’s King Charles visits the Sandringham Flower Show at Sandringham House, Norfolk, Britain July 23, 2025.,Image: 1024982163, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: *** NO UK USE FOR 48 HRS ***, Model Release: no, Credit line: Chris Radburn/Avalon
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- King Charles III and Queen Camilla during the national Service of Remembrance, hosted by the Royal British Legion in partnership with the Government, to mark the 80th Anniversary of VJ Day at the National Memorial Arboretum in Alrewas, Staffordshire. Picture date: Friday August 15, 2025.,Image: 1029533143, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: *** NO UK USE FOR 48 HRS ***, Model Release: no, Credit line: Joe Giddens/Avalon
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- Their Majesties King Charles and Queen Camilla joining veterans, members of VJ associations, military personnel and senior politicians for a national Service of Remembrance, hosted by the Royal British Legion with government, to remember 80 years since VJ Day marked the end of the Second World War National Memorial Arboretum, Staffordshire…Picture shows The King and Queen sit next to veterans John. Harlow and Edward Hatfield,Image: 1029571241, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: *** NO UK USE FOR 48 HRS ***, Model Release: no, Credit line: Paul Edwards/Avalon
I can well believe that decrepit couple encouraged this man to write his pack of lies.
Chuck remains an insecure individual and hates the fact that he’s not popular. Willy is so much like him.
Sucks to be them.
The thing you have to remember is that people who work for the royals at this level have to sign NDAs against this sort of gossip, and can be hauled to jail if they break them. Hence the ironic situation of Knauf bemoaning the Sussex bullying with the “victims” unable to confirm or deny it. You can bet that if they are spilling the tea, it’s because they have been asked to do so.
Oh yes the NDA’s ! The butler wanted to write a book and I can imagine Chuckles and Horsilla saying sure but be sure to include what a shitty liar Harry is to make us look good and discredit what Harry wrote in Spare. Maybe.
this is the part that continues to fascinate me, about the royals and their codependent relationship with the media: there were a lot of knives out for Diana, for having the temerity to insist that her experience was valid, that her views were grounded, that her tortured struggles with her mental and physical health were not discrediting, but actually, the opposite: that someone would have had to be insane *not* to be troubled by the sort of life she was expected to lead. That she was struggling for her emotional survival, and her salvation was, effectively, her job, and not her marriage, that her husband was a pointless POS and whilst she loved her children, it was better for them to face the facts than live in a fantasy. That broke the mold for so *many* people struggling with domestic misery, and let the air in. It’s like Nora in the Dollhouse, the Ibsen play. The Windsors inadvertently sponsored a radical feminist narrative, and it turned out not to be so radical after all. Diana always said she wanted to be married, she wanted to be a partner, to have a partner. That’s what most people want. Society spends so much time feeding women this line, from a script that doesn’t go past page five. What happens after you pronounce your vows? Cause a lot of men just don’t really seem to know. It’s a cautionary tale for the ages: women take marriage seriously, men often don’t. Diana made it vivid and to a planetary audience, that you don’t have to be a radical feminist or a lesbian or a bra-burning hippy to find men totally underwhelming, insofar as she was not content to be fobbed off by a lame partner, or patronised by his family. That’s a real lesson for people all over the planet, and her impact was legendary.
Fact is, royal staff has to accept ironclad NDAs. Especially in post Diana times. So a butler opening up in a book probably needs to be cleared by his principal to violate his discretion, isn’t he? Could have Jason Knauf run to court without Williams approval? I doubt it! So yes, Charles is on board with his former employee creating a new Camilla adoring narrative. But what would I know…
The British royal family is a bunch of racist sleazeballs. How far they’ve fallen in the past few years.
Imagine complaining that a competent adult wanted to do things her own way. They must be the most exhausting people on earth.
Do I think the butler got a written script from Charles, telling him what to lie about? No. But, he got a book despite his NDA, didn’t he? So, someone let him write it and go on to shows to talk about it. I am sure it came with attachments like no bad-talk about BRF, a lot of sh*t talk about H&M. Otherwise, he wouldn’t be allowed on these shows.
So the cowardly king and his mistress/wife are hiding behind the butler… a king who lack the courage to put his name on his words is just pathetic imo.
I agree with Kaiser.
Hmmmm – yeah. sure, Mr Butler.
I agree that this is all okayed by Buckingham Palace
But maybe it’s also another way for Charles to take a crack at William and Kate? I mean who does “I’m not going to do that today. I’m going off to have tea with my friends” really sound like?