Grant Harrold
Role at the time: Former royal butler to King Charles at Highgrove House (2004-2011), speaking on the podcast The Royals Uncensored
Statement summary
On the podcast The Royals Uncensored, Grant Harrold, who worked as a royal butler for Charles at Highgrove from 2004 to 2011, said "the King certainly didn't want Diana forgotten," and that he saw that "firsthand." He said it is "completely possible that maybe it was an exchange of some kind," but that from his own experience in the period after Diana's death, he believed Charles still had feelings for her, citing that Charles continued to wear her wedding ring until his remarriage and kept other personal items connected to her.
“The King certainly didn't want Diana forgotten, I saw that firsthand! This is a nuclear strike at the heart of the monarchy. This is extraordinary, what's come out. I was quite shocked. Look, it's completely possible that maybe it was an exchange of some kind, but I was around, especially in those days after Princess Diana had obviously died... and from my experience - and this is me being very honest and open with everyone here - he still, I believe, had feelings for [her], I think he still cared for her. He still wore her wedding ring as far as I could see, and that obviously was removed, obviously, after his next wedding. And there were other things around that very much meant she was still part of their lives. Now, why would you still want those memories? Why would you keep those things, those personal things around, if you were telling the word that, she'll be forgotten?”
The Express's report of remarks Grant Harrold made on The Royals Uncensored podcast (with co-hosts Katie Nicholl and Jo Elvin) on September 17, 2026. It identifies Harrold as a former royal butler who worked for Charles at Highgrove between 2004 and 2011.
Archived copy (opens in a new tab)Why we used this label
On whether Spencer's account of Charles's words and demeanour after Diana's death is accurate, Harrold does not flatly deny the exchange occurred — he calls it "completely possible" — so this is not a denial like Arbiter's. Instead he disputes the characterization that Charles was indifferent to Diana or wanted her forgotten, offering his own firsthand observations (the wedding ring, kept personal items) as counter-evidence. The closest competing label is condemns, which this case uses for accounts that support Charles's side; it loses here because Harrold does not reject Spencer's account of the words as false, only the broader characterization of Charles's feelings that the account implies.