Harold Grant, who has served as a butler to the royal family, took to Instagram to set the record straight about a photo of young Prince William and Princess Kate Middleton that he had shared previously.
Grant, who served as a butler to the then future King Charles from 2004 to 2011, apologized to his followers for unknowingly sharing an AI image of the royal couple while assuring them that he will be more careful in the future.
Former royal butler Grant Harrold offers his sincere apologies as he thought the Kate and William photo was authentic
The apologetic Instagram story published on May 26 directly referenced a picture of Prince William and Kate Middleton, which Grant had posted with the caption: “This wonderful photo of the Prince and Princess of Wales was taken when I first met them back in 2004. A true royal love story.”
After fans pointed out that the photo may be AI-generated, the former royal butler issued a lengthy apology, saying, “It has come to my attention that the authenticity of a recent image I shared has been questioned to be AI,” adding, “I strive for my content to be a reflection of the great years I spent as part of the household.”
He went on to say that while he may be an expert on identifying a butter knife from a dinner knife, detecting an AI-generated image may not be his strongest suit. He said that he “genuinely mistook” the image to be from 2004, when he joined the royal service, and also the year when the couple made their relationship public. He had simply wished to “share this joy” with his followers.
Harold concluded by saying, “Moving forward, I will be more cautious of the content I choose to share with my followers and will endeavor to ensure my platform remains an authentic and positive space that celebrates the royal family.”
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