Former royal butler shares King Charles' heartbreaking response to becoming king
Topics: Royal Family, News, King Charles III, The Queen
Jen Thomas
Featured Image Credit: Richard Pohle - WPA Pool/Getty Images
Topics: Royal Family, News, King Charles III, The Queen
What really goes on behind closed doors with the Royal Family?
A former royal butler has shared some of his conversations with King Charles which were had in the run up to him becoming the monarch. Grant Harrold was employed as a butler for the now King at Highgrove House, where he worked for him for seven years.
He has shared many fond memories of his time working with the then-Prince of Wales, and has called the job 'an absolute dream come true'. Grant speaks highly of the king, saying the 76-year-old is 'very gentle' and said he 'didn't once raise his voice' over his time working there.
However, before he was crowned King on May 6, 2023, Grant recalls a sad response from Charles when he was asked about the future plans for him to take over the role and for his coronation.
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Grant told the Telegraph that Charles had said: "When that job comes, you lose a parent."
His beloved mother, Queen Elizabeth II, passed away on September 8, 2022, after Prince Phillip died on April 9, 2021. They had been married for an impressive 73 years, the longest for any royal couple.
According to the BBC, King Charles had been 'anxious' ahead of his coronation.
Speaking in a documentary called Coronation Girls, he recalled his memories of the night before his mother's coronation, when he was just four years old: "I remember it all so well then, because I remember my sister and I had bath time in the evening.
"My mama used to come up at bath time wearing the crown to practise.
"You have to get used to how heavy [the crown] is, I've never forgotten, I can still remember it vividly," he remembered.
He talked about his nerves about the weight of the crown: "It is very important to wear it for a certain amount of time, because you get used to it then.
"But the big one that you're crowned with, the St Edward's Crown, it weighs 5lbs."
"It is much heavier and taller, so there's always that feeling of feeling slightly anxious, in case it wobbles.
"You have to carry it, you have to look straight ahead."
Grant also recalled a conversation he had with Charles about which title he would take, before he settled on King Charles III.
There had speculation before the coronation that he might have taken George VII instead, as his grandfather, George VI, had also chosen a different title for his accession. George VI was born Albert Frederick Arthur George, but chose the name for 'continuity' purposes.
Queen Victoria was the first to select a different regal name, as she was baptised as Alexandrina Victoria.
Harrold said many people thought the name might change as a tribute to his grandfather.
He recalled: "I remember asking him what he would be, and he said to me, 'I could be Charles, but I could also be George VII', which is quite nice because his grandfather was George VI."
Grant also confessed the choice of name came as a surprise: "We were getting the impression that he would probably be George VII. So I was shocked when they announced he was Charles III."
Prime Minister Liz Truss confirmed his title in a speech from Downing Street at the time: "Today the Crown passes, as it has done for more than a thousand years, to our new monarch, our new head of state, his majesty King Charles III."