I was King Charles’ butler and once dropped a pudding in front of him that splattered him – he still ate it
Grant Harrold said the incident told him a lot about King Charles' character
BEING a staff member for the royal family must be nerve-wracking at times – particularly when you make a mistake.
King Charles’ former butler Grant Harrold, who worked for the monarch from 2004 to 2011, shared the terrifying moment he once dropped a souffle in front of His Majesty.
Speaking at an etiquette dinner hosted by he told Fabulous: “The biggest faux pas that I ever did in the dining room, which I’ve never talked about, I was serving dinner to the King and some family members and I remember going around the table and putting plates down.
“We were going back to get the starter – a souffle or something – and I remember walking around the table serving everyone.
“I got to the King, leaned over, offered the dish, and went back.”
Grant then mimed spooning the souffle onto the table, and claims Charles had let out a surprised exclamation in response.
The butler continued: “I’m looking and I thought ‘oh God, I haven’t given him a plate’.
“It had gone straight onto a charger, an underplate, a silver one.
“He looked at me, and I looked at him and there was a moment of – you could almost hear music – we were staring at each other like ‘who is going to make the first move?’
“He looked at me and he went ‘don’t worry it’s fine’.”
Grant then said Charles pointed to himself asking: “Royal?” to which the butler had replied: “Yes sir.”
The former staff member then claims Charles pointed to the silver underplate and responded: “Silver, it’s fine, I’m royal, I can eat off silver.”
While the moment was undoubtedly awkward for Grant, he said it demonstrated the monarch’s kindness.
He added: “It showed his humility, if it had been anyone else they would have said ‘can you go get me a plate’ or ‘can you clean this up?’
“That just shows you that behind closed doors he’s a really genuinely nice guy.
“Even when you got things wrong, he wouldn’t even make a big thing about it.
“He was very lowkey about it and turned it into a bit of fun.”
Grant – also known as The Royal Butler – worked as a butler for the now-King Charles and Queen Camilla in their household based at Highgrove House.
Grant also served under the late Queen and Prince Philip from time to time.
The former butler brands himself as Britain’s leading “Royal etiquette expert” and he trains other housekeepers in the UK.
He now creates videos on social media, offering advice to Brits on fine dining and manners.
He is now also a regular guest on TV shows such as This Morning and Good Morning Britain.
Grant previously revealed the correct way to use cutlery.
