After the Queen’s burial, Grant Harrold, a former butler to King Charles, spoke to Insider about Prince Harry’s ties with the royal family.
Monday’s Queen Elizabeth II funeral procession saw Harry and William walking side by side. In contrast, their cousin Peter Phillips stood between the brothers during Prince Philip’s burial in April 2021.
It’s unknown whether the brothers have patched things up after news of a feud from 2018 surfaced. According to The Guardian, William and Harry avoided eye contact and maintained their physical distance during the burial.
From 2004 through 2011, Harrold worked for the royal family and was close with Charles, Harry, and William. He said that he doesn’t think Harry and William’s simultaneous appearance would have been a publicity gimmick but rather an organic choice.
“Nothing simply happens. They’re always prepared for. However, I doubt that this was a deliberate plot “Harrold said.
When the brothers went on a walkabout with their spouses at Windsor Castle to see tributes to the Queen a few days after she passed away, Harrold said that the brothers had already shown that they were “a unified family.”
The Queen’s passing drew them together, but Harrold warned that it may only last a short while.
A Kensington Palace representative earlier informed The Times of London that William had requested Meghan Markle and Harry to accompany them on the walkabout.
According to the spokeswoman, “The Prince of Wales believed it was an essential demonstration of solidarity at a very difficult moment for the family.”
Harry’s connection with the monarch may also be strengthening, Harrold said. In his first address as king on September 9, the monarch spoke of his “love for Harry and Meghan as they continue to build their lives abroad.”
Charles was ‘offering an olive branch’ by saying so, Harrold said.
“Despite recognising their new existence in California, he made it plain that they were still a member of the family. He made it plain that even if people don’t like Meghan, she is a member of the family in his first big speech as king “Added he.