While their relationship is strained now, one former royal butler initially thought that Prince Harry and Kate Middleton would end up dating following her infamous split from his brother, Prince William.
“They got on so well,” Grant Harrold, a former butler to King Charles III and author of the new book The Royal Butler, out Tuesday, September 23, exclusively told Us Weekly on Friday, September 5.
“I remember, when [Prince William] and [Kate] separated — and I think I said this — you know, [Prince Harry] and [Kate] got on so well that I even thought that maybe Harry and her would get together,” he continued. “They were that close. They were best friends, and I wouldn’t have put it past Harry thinking, ‘Well, she’s a pretty girl, My brother didn’t want her. I’ll have her.’ That wouldn’t have surprised me at all. So it could have been Harry and Catherine easily, I would have thought. But, you know, thankfully [William] got her back.”
He added, “What I’m trying to say is, that is how close they were.”
Prince William and Middleton started dating in 2001, after they met at the University of St. Andrews. The pair infamously broke up in 2007, though they reconciled in 2008 and went on to announce their engagement in 2010.
“At the time, I wasn’t very happy about it, but it actually made me a stronger person,” Kate said of the pair’s split during a joint interview with William in November 2010. “You find out things about yourself that maybe you hadn’t realized. I think you can get quite consumed by a relationship when you are younger, and I really valued that time for me as well, although I didn’t think it at the time.”
Prince Harry, Kate Middleton and Prince William Catherine Mark Cuthbert/UK Press via Getty Images
Instead of swooping in and dating his brother’s ex, Harrold said that he believes Prince Harry ultimately pushed his brother William to reconcile with his future wife.
“Harry definitely would have said to his brother, ‘You’re crazy.’ I’m sure. I’m convinced of it,” he told Us. “We all thought it, you know. We were all thinking, ‘This is mad.’ Because they were such a good couple together. And you know, when they separated in 2007, you know, we all wanted [them] to get back together. I was thrilled when they did.”
Prince Harry’s relationship with Prince William isn’t the only dynamic that has changed over the years. The Duke of Sussex’s bond with his sister-in-law, Princess Kate, has gone through its own changes following his and Meghan Markle’s royal exit. While Harry always had kind words for his sister-in-law — “I’ve known Kate for years, and […]
Despite their close relationship, Prince Harry and Kate Middleton have been distant amid his estrangement from his brother and his father, King Charles. After Harry and his wife, Meghan Markle, renounced their titles as senior working royals and relocated to California, the Duke of Sussex’s relationship with his family has been strained, even amid Kate and King Charles’ cancer battles.
Harrold believes that despite the estrangement, Prince Harry reached out to his sister-in-law after she announced she was diagnosed with an unspecified type of cancer in March 2024. (In January of this year, the Princess of Wales revealed she was in remission.)
“I’d like to think he did. I would like to think that,” Harrold told Us. “But, you know … I mean … he’s not a bad guy. I’d be horrified if he didn’t reach out to [Kate], especially after the cancer diagnosis.”
