Topics: Royal Family, UK News, Prince Harry, Prince William, News, Kate Middleton, Meghan Markle
Throughout his seven years working for King Charles III, Grant Harrold forged a close bond to his children, Prince William and Prince Harry, whom he says were quite the mischievous pair of youngsters.
Sadly, however, in the years since leaving Highgrove, the former royal butler has been left saddened by the brother's fiery fall-out.
Harrold has also been forced to step in on allegations of violence between the duo.
In his bombshell memoir Spare, Harry made a number of damning accusations about William, alluding to a deep-rooted rivalry by describing him in one instance as his 'beloved brother and arch-nemesis'.
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"There’s always been this competition between us, weirdly. I think it really plays into the heir/spare dynamic," he wrote in one instance, also claiming William had long taken issue with Harry's wife, Meghan Markle.
Arguably the most shocking allegation made by the prince is that his big brother once knocked him to the ground of his then-home Nottingham Cottage, during a discussion about his relationship with the US-born former Suits actress
"He grabbed me by the collar, ripping my necklace, and… knocked me to the floor," Harry, 40, wrote. "I landed on the dog’s bowl, which cracked under my back, the pieces cutting into me.
"I lay there for a moment, dazed, then got to my feet and told him to get out."
As we say, however, the prince's claims have since been refuted by Grant Harrold, who worked as Harry's father, then Prince Charles' royal butler for just shy of a decade.
During this time, whilst he claims the brothers often became embroiled in light-hearted tiffs, neither bore an affliction to violence.
"I never witnessed them have a fight," Harrold exclusively told Tyla this week.
Promoting the release of his debut memoir, The Royal Butler: My Remarkable Life in Royal Service, he continued: "That isn’t to say William didn’t give Harry a telling off sometimes as children – he was the big brother.
"You see the same dynamic nowadays between Prince George and Prince Louis, in what both Harry and Louis both seem to give back as good as they get."
Harry also described William's alleged rage whilst promoting his memoir during an interview with ITV's Tom Bradby weeks later, adding of his brother: "I talk about the red mist that I had for so many years.
"I saw this red mist in him — he wanted me to hit him back but I chose not to."
Though neither Kensington Palace nor Buckingham Palace have commented on these particularly disparaging claims, Harrold insists on their behalf that any childhood beef between the brothers was 'comedy'.
"I can guarantee you right now that I never saw a fight break out, a punch-up occur, or a shouting match take place between William and Harry," he insisted.
"If it did, you’d know about it, because Highgrove isn’t that big. If you shouted, someone would hear you."
The former butler went on to reaffirm: "So, Harry saying William knocked him to the ground – I just don’t believe it.
"William hasn’t got that in him, that’s not him. I find the whole thing bizarre. William isn’t violent. Don’t get me wrong, he gets frustrated, but he’s not got it in him to fight his brother."
In the years since alleging violence on 43-year-old William's behalf, Harry has pledged his hope for 'reconciliation' with his family, especially his brother, telling the BBC in May of this year: "There's no point continuing to fight any more, life is precious."
In Harrold's view, however, William is well within his right to hold a grudge over the claims made against his character.
"William will definitely see everything Harry has said as an attack," the ex-butler told Tyla, also citing a number of comments Harry made about his wife, Kate Middleton, and her attitude towards Meghan.
For those in need of a reminder, in Spare, Harry describes his sister-in-law as having 'grimaced' when the mother-of-two asked to borrow her lipgloss once, and reducing Meghan to tears over complaints about Kate's daughter Princess Charlotte's bridesmaid dress.
Harrold explained: "He’s made her seem difficult, petulant, cold, especially when it comes to her relationship with Meghan."
Returning talk back to the future king, he continued: "William is a lot like his grandmother, Queen Elizabeth in that his family always comes first. William will stand up to attacks.
"He’s someone that sticks to his guns – much more so than his father, who might be more willing to let things go. He’s stubborn, but not in a bad way. He’s principled."
Harrold went on to predict: "I doubt he’s willing to back down after everything Harry’s said – especially given the possibility of his brother making further damaging accusations in the future."
Of Harry himself, the published author adds that he's 'changed' so much over the years, that is likely his family no longer recognise him.
Looking back on his work for Charles, Harrold recalled: "The Harry I knew was playful. In the book, I recall he and William chasing me around Highgrove with water balloons. He was cheeky.
"He’d joke around with me, he’d wind me up. I remember, he’d often just start chasing me around the house, and I’d bolt up the stairs terrified he was going to pull a prank on me. He was very much a practical joker, and it was great seeing that. But he also had a really humble side to him."
He continued: "I remember one time at Wood Farm, he came into the kitchen to grab some kitchen roll, and he had a really worried look about him. I’d asked him what was wrong and he wouldn’t tell me. It turned out that a dog had done his business in one of the rooms upstairs.
"I said I’d clean it up but Harry insisted he wanted to. I thought his attitude was brilliant."
Of the Harry he sees today, Harrold went on to confess: "I think people are worried – or, more aware – of having connections to Harry nowadays, because you don’t know if he’s going to cause a problem later down the line.
"The Harry now is definitely a different Harry, I can admit that. Sadly, that old Harry is gone."
He lastly added: "Even if he was to return to the UK now, he’d be coming back a very different Harry."
