EXCLUSIVE: Prince William and Harry Behind Closed Doors — Royal Butler Reveals Intimate Details About How 'Different' The Brothers Were Growing Up
King Charles' ex-butler has revealed Prince William and Prince Harry's personalities behind closed doors.
Sept. 24 2025, Published 4:52 p.m. ET
A former royal staffer has exposed how Prince William and Prince Harry really acted behind closed doors growing up and how their personalities differed from an early age, RadarOnline.com can exclusively reveal.
Grant Harrold, 47, previously served as King Charles III's butler from 2004 to 2011 and detailed what he witnessed working in the palace in his bombshell book, The Royal Butler.
Prince William's 'Very Friendly' and 'Polite' Introduction
Grant Harrold began working as Charles' butler in 2004 when William and Harry were 19 and 21, respectively.
When Harrold began working for Charles, he was only a few years older than his two sons but noted William and Harry were part of his motivation for taking on the job.
Harrold wrote, "One of the reasons I had wanted to work for Prince Charles was to be a help for his sons, William and Harry, who were twenty-one and nineteen at the time, and it wasn’t long before I met the young princess," referencing William's then-girlfriend Kate Middleton.
He went on to recall the first time he met Harry and William – and how wildly different their first impressions were.
Harrold recalled being shocked William wanted him to be addressed by his first name only.
Charles' former butler recalled: "In early May, the house became a hive of activity and Fred, the senior butler, told me Prince William, then in his fourth year studying geography at the University of St Andrews, had arrived. Offering to introduce us to get the formalities out of the way, Fred took me through to the staff room where William was just leaving.
"The next thing I noticed was his voice, so deep and authoritative. We shook hands and I said, 'Hi, I’m Grant.' 'I'm William, pleased to meet you,' he said. The prince added, 'I hope you'll enjoy it here.'"
Harrold revealed the future king was also down to Earth as the new butler nervously asked him how he should address him, to which the prince replied with a smile, "William. My name's William."
He noted: "I was glad to clear that up but was also quite surprised. It felt a big deal, because not many people addressed him purely by his first name."
Prince Harry Launched Water Balloons at Dad's New Butler
Harrold recalled being hit with a water balloon when Harry came home for the first time since he began working for Charles.
While the Prince of Wales' first encounter with Harrold was said to be "very friendly, polite and straight to the point," Harry entered the butler's life in a much more explosive fashion – literally.
Harrold wrote: "I was in the kitchen one day, having a conversation with the chef, when someone appeared at the door and, without warning, threw a water balloon at me.
"I did a double take. 'OK,' I thought, so this is happening… Prince Harry has just arrived home and I'm getting a water balloon thrown at me."
After missing his father's butler on his first throw, the mischievous royal renegade wound up his next pitch and launched another water balloon in Harrold's direction.
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Harry apologized for the surprise water balloon attack and said he was 'just being silly.'
Harrold continued: "Narrowly avoiding the first missile, I saw he was lining up another and instinctively dived into the larder at the back of the kitchen. Suddenly realizing I was cornered, I sped out a window about the size of a picture frame, with a net covering to stop flies coming in.
"Scarcely believing what I was doing, I removed the netting and somehow managed to crawl out of the window and ended up outside. But as soon as I hit the ground, a water balloon smacked me on the chest, soaking my shirt. I looked up to see that Harry had run back upstairs and was throwing them from a window. I ran around the house and bumped into him as I came back inside."
Finally, he came face-to-face with the water balloon bandit, who apologized and explained, "I’m just being a bit silly."
Harry was said to ask Harrold how he was settling in and asked if they wanted to get lunch together. While Harrold initially politely declined, Harry insisted he sit with him in the kitchen and chat when his food arrived.
