Prince William and Princess Kate’s relationship got off to a rocky start, but they bounced back stronger than ever.
Long before they tied the knot in 2011, the Prince and Princess of Wales infamously split up in 2007 — only to get back together just a few months later. And when they did, there was no doubt in Palace staff’s minds that the pair were destined to get married.
Among the staffers who got to witness Kate and William’s “special” reunion first-hand was former royal butler Grant Harrold, who served Queen Elizabeth and King Charles between 2004 and 2011.
Promoting his upcoming book The Royal Butler at Rubens Hotel, Harrold opened up about the opportunity to serve at a private Valentine's Day 2008 dinner that William hosted for Kate in his country home, Highgrove House.
“It was just the two of them. It was really nice, quite special actually,” Harrold said, per People magazine, noticing how “something changed” after their reunion.
“Before, they weren’t [really] holding hands — and it was very much William’s friend. After that, when they got back together, it absolutely changed, and it was very much them as a couple. Something changed, and you knew they were a couple, and from then on, it was very much a waiting game,” he said.
“After they got back together, I was convinced they would get married.”
His intuition proved correct when William and Kate got married a few years later and welcomed kids George, Charlotte, and Louis.