Prince Harry and Meghan Markle married more than seven years ago, but according to a new book, the ceremony saw the senior royal make an x-rated comment as the ceremony ended
Prince Philip didn’t hold back his true feelings after Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s wedding, according to a new book.
The Sussexes married in a grand ceremony at Windsor Castle back in May 2018 in front of the whole Royal Family, including the late Queen and her husband.
The ceremony at St George’s Chapel had all of the hallmarks of a royal wedding, as well as the addition of a performance of Stand By Me by a gospel choir as well as a 14-minute sermon by Bishop Michael Curry. Once the service concluded, the newlyweds went on a carriage ride around Windsor and the rest of the royals filed out of the chapel to head to the castle for a formal reception.
And according to former royal butler Grant Harrold, as they left the church, Harry’s grandfather Philip turned to the Queen and told her “Thank f*** that’s over”.
His claim comes in his new book, out later this month. Harrold worked for King Charles at his Highgrove estate for seven years between 2004 and 2011.
On the day of the wedding Harrold had been providing punditry for a broadcaster before he joined his partner, Jack Stooks, who was invited to watch the royal party leave the chapel and brought the royal staffer along as his guest.
According to The Telegraph, in his upcoming book, called The Royal Butler: My remarkable life of Royal Service, he writes: “Once all the formalities were over, we watched as the happy couple, and then the other members of the Royal family, filed out of the chapel.
“When Prince Philip came out, he turned to the Queen and said, ‘Thank f*** that’s over.'”
In the run-up to Harry and Meghan’s wedding, the former Duke of Edinburgh underwent hip replacement surgery. At the time, it was said he was determined not to miss their big day and set himself the goal of being up and walking by then.
Meanwhile, during his time at Highgrove, Harrold got to know both Princes William and Harry, who were in their late teens and early 20s.
In a new interview, the former butler also reveals that he first met Harry as a 19-year-old, with their first encounter coming when Harry hit him with a water balloon during a playfight. He says the pair even shared a takeaway in the time before the Duke of Sussex went off to Sandhurst Military Academy.
Harrold’s time at Highgrove also coincided with the time Charles and Camilla announced their engagement and subsequently got married.
In his bombshell memoir Spare, Harry told how he and now estranged brother William begged their father not to marry his now wife. He telling wrote: “We support you, we said. We endorse Camilla, we said. ‘Just please don’t marry her. Just be together, Pa.’ He didn’t answer. But she answered. Straight away.
And he says what he saw was a far cry from what Harry wrote in his memoir. He told The Telegraph: “The four of them, I promise you, got on so well. And that’s why I don’t understand what Harry’s said, I really don’t understand.
“Because I saw them. I saw them having dinners together, I saw them having drinks together, I saw them going to parties together.”
He also recalls seeing “no animosity” between any of the royals, adding: “The King used to do things to make them [William and Harry] laugh and giggle.”