'Meghan Markle's Disney Princess Fantasy Broke Family': Ex-Butler Says Royal Reunion Unlikely

Last Updated:September 10, 2025, 16:52 IST

Grant Harrold, former butler to King Charles, reveals in his forthcoming memoir how Meghan Markle’s entry changed not just Harry but the trajectory of the entire royal family

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle.

From whispered alliances to covert rivalries, the secrets of Buckingham Palace are often lost in its ornate corridors. However, thank God for the few insiders who have peeled back the velvet curtain, revealing a stunning world of glass-clinking power play. The latest to spill the beans is Grant Harrold, the former butler to King Charles (then Prince of Wales).

Harrold, in his forthcoming memoir, The Royal Butler, has revealed how Meghan Markle’s entry changed not just the course of one prince’s life but the trajectory of the entire royal family.

Harrold, speaking to Page Six, said Princes Harry and William once shared a bond that seemed unbreakable. “Not just the best of friends, they were inseparable," he said. However, all that changed when Meghan arrived in 2016. “The biggest change in Harry’s life is Meghan," Harrold said. “As soon as Meghan came into his life, everything changed."

Though he stopped short of blaming the actor-turned-royal-turned-commoner for the rift in the family, he described her struggles with royal protocol as both comical and consequential. For instance, Meghan reportedly tried to move engagements, citing lunch with friends, unaware that the royal diary is planned six months ahead.

Harrold goes on to say that perhaps, influenced by fairy tales, Meghan expected the monarchy to operate like a “Disney princess" fantasy. “She obviously thought she could come in and do her thing, and you can’t," he said.

According to the Page Six report, the notoriously sharp-tongued Prince Philip seemed to have sensed the foreboding at the couple’s wedding itself. Harrold recounts that as Prince Harry and Meghan exited St. George’s Chapel, the Duke of Edinburgh dryly muttered, “Thank f–k that’s over." The Queen, amused, turned to him and grinned.

While there has been much talk of late of a rapprochement in the family, Harrold is not so sure. According to him, Harry’s media deals—ranging from podcasts, memoirs, to Netflix specials—have dealt irreparable damage. The King “doesn’t trust Harry, because of what Harry has said. He worried that he would use it to his advantage. And he has."

“If they reconcile, then fall out again, what’s to say there won’t be another book, Netflix series or interview about it?"

News world 'Meghan Markle's Disney Princess Fantasy Broke Family': Ex-Butler Says Royal Reunion Unlikely

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