A Queen in waiting... in every aspect

Fascinating memoir lifts lid on life with King & princess

- CHARLOTTE FOSTER

BUTLER Grant Harrold first met the future Princess of Wales when she was just 22 but knew she was destined to become royalty.

As one of King Charles' trusted butlers, Grant is uniquely placed to reveal what really goes on behind the palace gates.

In a compelling new memoir, he shares stories about the royals and his insights into how the bitter rift between William and Harry may be healed.

Grant, who worked for Charles from 2004 to 2011, saw the romance blossom between Prince William and Kate.

He says: "That girl was a Queen in waiting in every aspect. She is the perfect Queen material and you can so obviously see that.

"Everything about her - the way she carried herself, the way she spoke, the way she interacted with people, her kindness, her beauty - she was, if I can say, the modern-day Princess Diana.

"Diana used to do things at Sandringham to make the staff laugh by poking her head out the window and pulling faces, and Kate was doing the same kind of thing. She is everything you can imagine. She is a beautiful and intelligent woman." Grant, a Scot, had wanted to work for the Royal Family ever since a childhood dream, in which he was dancing with Queen Elizabeth.

He spent most of his time at Highgrove, the Gloucestershire palace Charles shared with William and Harry, but he was also occasionally seconded to work for Queen Elizabeth.

Contrasting his reception from Kate and William, who he says "took a while" to trust him, he recalls how Harry greeted him for the first time with a water balloon fight.

RUMOURS