Grant William Veitch Harrold (born 1978 in Airdrie, Scotland) is a former

butler A butler is a person who works in a house serving and is a domestic worker in a large household. In great houses, the household is sometimes divided into departments with the butler in charge of the dining room, wine cellar, and pantry. Some a ...

Charles III Charles III (Charles Philip Arthur George; born 14 November 1948) is King of the United Kingdom and the 14 other Commonwealth realms. He was the longest-serving heir apparent and Prince of Wales and, at age 73, became the oldest person to ...

now a British etiquette expert, and broadcaster.

Career

He worked as a butler for

from 2004 to 2011, when King Charles was Prince of Wales. Grant has also explained in recent interviews he also looked after

William, Prince of Wales William, Prince of Wales, (William Arthur Philip Louis; born 21 June 1982) is the heir apparent to the British throne. He is the elder son of King Charles III and his first wife Diana, Princess of Wales. Born in London, William was educat ...

and

Catherine, Princess of Wales Catherine, Princess of Wales, (born Catherine Elizabeth Middleton; 9 January 1982) is a member of the British royal family. She is married to William, Prince of Wales, heir apparent to the British throne, making Catherine the likely next ...

during his time at Highgrove His first employers were

Urs Schwarzenbach Urs Ernst Schwarzenbach, CStJ (born 1948) is a UK-based Swiss financier. In May 2020, the ''Sunday Times'' estimated his net worth at £978 million. Early life Urs Schwarzenbach was born in Thalwil in 1948, and raised in Küsnacht. He is ...

and Major Christopher Hanbury on the

Ben Alder Ben Alder ( gd, Beinn Eallair) is the highest mountain in the remote area of the Scottish Highlands between Loch Ericht and Glen Spean. It rises to , making it the 25th highest Munro. The vast summit plateau is home of one of Britain's highest b ...

estate, where he began working in private service in 1997. Based in

Tetbury, Gloucestershire Tetbury is a town and civil parish inside the Cotswold district in England. It lies on the site of an ancient hill fort, on which an Anglo-Saxon monastery was founded, probably by Ine of Wessex, in 681. The population of the parish was 5,250 in ...

, Harrold now runs an etiquette and butler school. He also gives talks and demonstrations on

afternoon tea Tea (in reference to food, rather than the drink) has long been used as an umbrella term for several different meals. English writer Isabella Beeton, whose books on home economics were widely read in the 19th century, describes meals of var ...

etiquette,

dinner parties A party is a gathering of people who have been invited by a Hospitality, host for the purposes of socializing, conversation, recreation, or as part of a festival or other commemoration or celebration of a special occasion. A party will oft ...

etiquette and similar etiquette events. In 2014 Harrold's company Nicholas Veitch Limited alongside

Blenheim Palace Blenheim Palace (pronounced ) is a country house in Woodstock, Oxfordshire, England. It is the seat of the Dukes of Marlborough and the only non-royal, non- episcopal country house in England to hold the title of palace. The palace, on ...

founded ''The Royal School of Butlers.''

Media

Harrold first appeared regularly as the butler on the

reality television Reality television is a genre of television programming that documents purportedly unscripted real-life situations, often starring unfamiliar people rather than professional actors. Reality television emerged as a distinct genre in the early 19 ...

programme ''Country House'' at

Woburn Abbey Woburn Abbey (), occupying the east of the village of Woburn, Bedfordshire, England, is a country house, the family seat of the Duke of Bedford. Although it is still a family home to the current duke, it is open on specified days to visitors, a ...

between 2000 and 2003 whilst working for

Robin Russell, 14th Duke of Bedford (Henry) Robin Ian Russell, 14th Duke of Bedford (21 January 1940 – 13 June 2003), DL, of Woburn Abbey in Bedfordshire, was a British peer, stockbroker and animal conservationist. He became well known to the public by appearing in three series ...

and his son

Andrew Russell, 15th Duke of Bedford Andrew Ian Henry Russell, 15th Duke of Bedford (born 30 March 1962) is a British nobleman and peer. He is the son of Henry Robin Ian Russell, 14th Duke of Bedford, and his wife, Henrietta Tiarks. Biography Bedford was educated at Hall Schoo ...

, and then in 2012 was part of the

BBC Three BBC Three is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It was first launched on 9 February 2003 with programmes targeting 16 to 34-year-olds, covering all genres including animation, comedy, curre ...

series ''Be Your Own Boss''.

Controversy

In 2020, Harrold applied to register "The Royal Butler" as trademark for his business, however, the trademark was denied. Harrold had claimed that he had won the right to the trademark as part of a settlement when he left Royal service. In 2021, he was criticised by Asian communities for suggesting that people should never eat rice with their hands, a practice common in many Asian countries.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Harrold, Grant 1978 births Living people Scottish businesspeople Scottish domestic workers British butlers People from Airdrie, North Lanarkshire