A former butler to King Charles shares insight into the late Queen’s second posthumous birthday

Queen Elizabeth on the balcony of Buckingham Palace during the Trooping the Colour on June 2, 2022. PHOTO: JONATHAN BRADY – WPA POOL/GETTY IMAGES

Queen Elizabeth would have turned 98 on April 21, and a former royal butler to King Charles is sharing how the royal family will commemorate the day.

Grant Harrold, who served on staff for King Charles and Queen Camilla from 2004 to 2011, said there will be toasts, tributes and reflections in honor of the late Queen, who died in September 2022 at age 96.

“They won’t publicly do anything. Privately, I have no doubt they’ll raise a toast to her in the evening. I’m sure the day will very much be spent reflecting on the late Queen,” he told Slingo.

“I can almost guarantee that if you were to go to Windsor Castle that day, it’s very likely there’ll be some flowers on the tomb that have been sent by the family members,” he continued. “Sometimes on royal anniversaries, flowers are sent to royal graves. It’s very possible there will be flowers on the tombstone.”

(From left) The future King Charles, Queen Elizabeth, Prince Louis, Kate Middleton, Princess Charlotte, Prince George and Prince William on the balcony of Buckingham Palace during the Trooping the Colour parade on June 02, 2022.CHRIS JACKSON/GETTY IMAGES

Well-wishers to St. George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle, where the late Queen is buried, may also leave bouquets in the area that day. Queen Elizabeth’s birthday on April 21 is not to be confused with Trooping the Colour, which is the British Army’s annual parade for the sovereign’s official birthday, usually held in June.

While Harrold’s bio outlines that he was based at King Charles’ beloved country home Highgrove House during his tenure on the royal household staff, it also mentions that he had occasionally worked for Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip — where he became acquainted with the late Queen’s legendary sense of humor!

“With the Queen, I used to hear about her sense of humor and the fact that sometimes you couldn’t tell if she was being serious or not… and sometimes she’d catch you off guard,” Harrold said.

According to the staffer, he was once with her in Scotland and announced dinner for Queen Elizabeth and guests. When no one followed her cue to make their way to the meal, the monarch broke out into a run.

Prince Philip and Queen Elizabeth at the Braemar Games in Scotland in September 2008. CHRIS JACKSON/GETT

“Royal protocol kind of states they should follow or at least already be in the dining room and they were all still in the other room chatting. So she ran down the corridor and I remember looking thinking, ‘The Queen is running, what do I do?’ so I started running, well not running because I thought it would be rude to run as a butler,” Harrold said.

“I kind of did a trot into the room and when we got in there she looked around and she smiled and I heard the rest of the guests running down the corridor to come in. She looked at me then she gave me a wink as if to say ‘How about that.’ “

Queen Elizabeth was born as Princess Elizabeth to the future King George VI and Queen Mother on April 21, 1926, and died at age 96 on Sept. 8, 2022. She is remembered for her steadfast poise and dedication to duty throughout her record 70-year reign that spanned 15 prime ministers, shepherding the modern monarchy into a changing 21st century.

This April 21 is her second posthumous birthday following her death in September 2022, and King Charles, Queen Camilla, Prince William and Kate Middleton are known to mark the moment with posts on social media.

Prince William and Kate Middleton tour floral tributes left at Sandringham on Sept. 15, 2022, following the death of Queen Elizabeth.KARWAI TANG/WIREIMAGE

As the royal family honors Queen Elizabeth’s birthday in a private way, Harrold remembers the bright energy she radiated.

“When they say she lit up a room, you went into the room and you knew she was in the room. You walked in and you could spot her and she was always so polite, so polite, always smiling and making a joke or comment. Very observant, she noticed every detail,” he said.

“On the observant part, when there was a state dinner or a banquet she would inspect the table,” he continued. “You’ve got an army of staff, but she would still go around the table to make sure it had been done correctly. She noticed things if something wasn’t right.”