Former royal butler recalls hilariously awkward first meeting with Queen Elizabeth

Grant Harrold has recounted the moment he was introduced to the late Queen at a banquet dinner in a very embarrassing situation orchestrated by King Charles

When it comes to meeting royalty, the occasion usually calls for pomp and pageantry, along with formalities, bowing and a brief exchange of pleasantries.

But when former royal butler Grant Harrold first met the late Queen Elizabeth, he had a vastly different experience. Harrold, who worked as a butler to King Charles in Highgrove between 2004 and 2011, was first introduced to the late Queen by Charles during a banquet at Kew Palace, in a hilariously awkward moment.

Grant told the Mirror exclusively of the memorable moment, and how King Charles picked a very inopportune time to introduce his new butler to Her Majesty. It comes after Kate Middleton goes blonde attending church with William and kids in united front.

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During his seven years working for the royal family, Harrold became privy to Charles’ compassion for his staff, as the royal butler recalled how the King would often go out of his way to make conversation with those working for the Firm.

And he said Charles’ compassionate nature wasn’t exclusively reserved for quiet moments behind Palace doors, as he spoke of the time King Charles introduced him to the late Queen while he was mid-service at a dinner banquet.

Grant told the Mirror: “He did the same the first time I was properly introduced to Queen Elizabeth at Kew Palace. I’ll never forget I was so focused on the job, and so overwhelmed and excited to be on her service and I was thinking, ‘Don’t do anything wrong, Grant. Don’t put down the wrong plate, don’t drop the sauce, don’t overfill the glass,’ all these things.”

“And I remember going over to offer the Queen the vegetables with her dinner and suddenly Charles looks around the Queen and over to me and says ‘Oh mummy this is Grant, my newest butler’. And I’m thinking ‘Oh god, not now, not over the vegetables!’”

During his time at Highgrove, Grant built a strong rapport with King Charles, as he was taken aback by how kind and caring the King was to his staff, and how he would always go out of his way to make them feel included.

He said: “The thing that surprised me was how genuine and nice he was. As an example, what used to shock me was when I was in the middle of [serving] a dinner and I would hear ‘Oh and how are you today?’ and I ignored him because I thought he was talking to the guests.”

“And then he’d say my name and ask me again, and then he’d start saying ‘How’s your mum? How’s your papa? How’s your brother? How’s your home?’ If I was having something done, he’d always know and remember what was going on. He’d say ‘Did that thing get done in your house?’”

He continued: “What he would always do, which I couldn’t believe, was when he was having a dinner with high-profile guests on either side of him, and he used to start asking questions to me and it would catch me off guard every single time.”

Grant Harrold’s book The Royal Butler: My Remarkable Life of Royal Service is available from August 28.