Prince of Wales’ former butler says rift with Prince Harry was 'upsetting' and hopes brothers 'get back together'

A former butler to Prince William has spoken of his sadness at the breakdown in his relationship with his brother.

Grant Harrold told GB News how the pair were “best friends” when he worked for the future King - and that he still hoped they could somehow come back together.

Speaking to Esther McVey and Philip Davies, Mr Harrold also commented on the racism row currently engulfing the Royal Family.

On William and Harry’s feud, he revealed: “When I was there, they were best friends.

“When it all originally broke about the divide, when all those statements came out a couple of years ago, I didn't believe it. I was convinced it was a mistake, a false media storm, false information.

“But when I look at it now, it really upsets me. The only thing that gave me a little bit of hope was when the Queen passed and we saw them together.

“With families you have fall-outs, don't you? Most families eventually get back together and the Royal Family is like the rest of us, they're having fall-outs. And I like to think that one day that they will somehow get back together and go over these issues, hopefully.”

On the racism row involving Lady Susan Hussey, he continued: “I knew Lady Susan when I worked at the Palace. I know what a kind Lady she is. I've never witnessed anything.

“People say she's a racist. I've never witnessed that personally. The problem is when you do that job, when you accompany a member of the Royal Family, you get the details about who you are meeting, some background, and then they normally meet them before the Royal meets them.

“So it's not unusual to kind of ask a couple of questions, it's not unusual at all. This has obviously gone, for whatever reason, badly wrong which is why the Palace have put a statement, and the Prince of Wales has put a statement out. And it's highly embarrassing.

“I've been speaking to many friends about it from both sides. I think a lot of people do feel that it's a bit extreme that she's had to lose a job because of this.But at the same time, there'll be people there who feel that's maybe not enough so it's a really difficult one. But as a friend of Lady Susan and someone who knew her I really feel for her, I really do.”

Speaking about the Netflix trailer which has sparked claims of a new attack on the Royal family, Mr Harrold added: “It's not great. I do feel for the Prince and Princess of Wales. The Earthshot Prize in Boston has been overshadowed without question. I mean, you pick up the papers and it's either about obviously what's happening in the Palace the other day or about the Netflix programme.”

His comments come as a new GB News poll reveals more than half of the public (56%) see William and Catherine as better adverts for the monarchy abroad, according to a GB News poll.

This compares to 8% who opted for King Charles III and Queen Consort Camilla, and 7% who selected Prince Harry and Meghan. The remaining 29% said they "didn't know" or "preferred not to say".

The survey of 1,208 adults was carried out by PeoplePolling, a member of the British Polling Council (BPC) and comes as a welcome boost for William and Kate who were met with boos during their tour of the US earlier this week.