Prince Harry and Meghan Markle might be soaking up sunshine in California with their two kids, but back in the UK, royal watchers are still buzzing about their relationship. Despite public appearances showing the couple united, there’s been growing chatter suggesting Meghan might be the one to “pull the plug” on the marriage while Harry, some claim, remains blindly devoted.
But according to someone who spent years inside the royal bubble, that take couldn’t be further from the truth.
Grant Harrold, who served as King Charles’ butler for seven years, is stepping in to defend Harry’s character and his marriage. He says people are misunderstanding who Harry really is, especially when it comes to how he treats the woman he loves.
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Speaking to Showbiz Cheat Sheet on behalf of Slingo, Harrold said, “In his past relationships, he was very much just exactly the kind of character we see now. I didn’t know him with Meghan, but Harry always gives it his all and puts everything into his relationships. He’s very much a gentleman.”
He went on to explain that Harry has always been a loyal, old-fashioned kind of guy who doesn’t hold back when it comes to love. “He’s very old school … and he’s very caring and very supportive of them,” Harrold said. “Which kind of makes sense with everything going on just now with him and Meghan and people saying ‘Why is Harry still supporting her?’ Well, that’s what he’s like, that’s what he does. He supports and he’s always been like that.”
Harrold dismissed the criticism aimed at Meghan as completely misplaced, especially the idea that Harry’s unwavering support is somehow unusual. “At the end of the day, she’s his wife,” he said. “So he is going to be even more supportive of her and her work than he was with any relationship that I witnessed.”
Harry’s romantic history definitely supports this portrait. Before Meghan, he had two well-known relationships, both of which eventually fell apart under the pressure of the royal spotlight. His most serious pre-Meghan relationship was with Chelsy Davy, whom he dated on and off from 2004 to 2011.
In The Daily Mail, Davy once explained why the relationship ended: “It was so full-on crazy and scary and uncomfortable. I found it very difficult when it was bad. I couldn’t cope. I was young, I was trying to be a normal kid and it was horrible.”
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Harry echoed that sentiment in his memoir Spare, writing, “I don’t know if Chels could bear it, and I couldn’t ask her to. Chels insisted that she was not sure if she was prepared for all of that … I completely understood her desire for freedom. If I had a choice, I wouldn’t want this life either.”
After Chelsy, he dated actress and model Cressida Bonas for about two years, reportedly introduced to him by his cousin Princess Eugenie. But once again, the intense media spotlight took its toll and led to the end of that relationship too.
If Harry seems intensely protective and loyal to Meghan, it’s not because he’s lost in some fantasy—it’s because that’s exactly how he’s always been. And for Harrold, it’s clear that the Duke of Sussex isn’t being manipulated or overruled by his wife. He’s just doing what he’s always done—standing by the woman he loves.
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