Prince William “Wasn’t Himself” During Kate Middleton Breakup, Royal Butler Says

Rachel BurchfieldSun, September 6, 2026 at 1:35 PM UTC

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Prince William and Kate Middleton at the Nigerian state visit in the U.K.Credit: GettyThe Gist -

Prince William and Kate Middleton briefly broke up in 2007, six years after they initially met.

While they were split, William was reportedly “quiet,” “withdrawn,” and “not himself,” according to royal butler Grant Harrold.

Harrold spoke with InStyle in August 2025while promoting his book, The Royal Butler: My Remarkable Life in Royal Service.

Prince William and Kate Middleton have been together for over two decades, but royal watchers may recall that they briefly split in 2007, two years after graduating from university. According to a royal butler, the future king wasn’t his usual self during their breakup.

Speaking exclusively to InStyle in August 2025,Grant Harrold—who began his service for the royal household the day after Princess Diana’s death on August 31, 1997—says that during their breakup, William’s demeanor changed. “He went very quiet. He became a little bit withdrawn. I didn’t see a huge amount of him. I didn’t ask him—I didn’t say anything. I just knew he wasn’t himself 100 percent. I knew he wasn’t himself.”

Prince William and Kate Middleton on June 15, 2024Credit: Getty

Harrold speculates that William and Kate may have split up “to get the media off Kate’s back” because the rampant pressure on the couple to get engaged was “so bad.”

“Kate was struggling, and I wondered if it was to give a breathing space,” he says. “That’s just my view. I had no information. So when they got back together, I remember thinking, ‘I wonder if they hadn’t really split up, they just had a bit of time apart [because of] the media.’”

During that time apart—only a few months in length—“I kept hoping that was the case and they would get back together, and I secretly wanted them to get back together,” Harrold says. When they did reconcile, he was “thrilled,” he adds.

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Kate Middleton and Prince William on March 13, 2007Credit: Getty

The former butler wrote in his book, The Royal Butler: My Remarkable Life in Royal Service, which was published in September 2025, that even through their breakup, “Kate was always the one.”

He describes the Kate he knew in the 2000s as “lovely, very bubbly, very talkative.”

“What’s funny—people think she’s shy,” Harrold says. “She’s not shy at all.” Kate had no airs about her and talked to Harrold about how his week was and what was happening. Even if he’d read headlines about her, he never mentioned it. “I always made out that I had no knowledge,” he says. “So I would kind of say, ‘What have you been up to, and what have you done?’ She was always lovely.”

Kate Middleton on May 4, 2007, during her brief breakup from Prince WilliamCredit: Getty

Kate Middleton on March 16, 2007Credit: Getty

One of the roles of a royal butler was to get a drink for anyone who needed one in the house, but Kate “would take care of herself,” Harrold says. “She wouldn’t let me do anything. ‘Can I get you a drink?’ She’d be in the fridge getting a drink. ‘I’ll get you a plate.’ She’s already got the plate. You know what I mean? She did everything herself.”

Harrold says, “I was lucky,” of his time in royal service. “It was a really good time to be there.”

on InStyle

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