Prince Philip is said to have whispered four words to his wife as they were leaving the ceremony.
Prince Harry was granted the Dukedom of Sussex by his late grandmother Queen Elizabeth after his wedding in 2018(Image: Getty Images)
Prince Philip didn’t hide his feelings following Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s nuptials, as revealed in a forthcoming book. The Sussexes tied the knot in a lavish ceremony at Windsor Castle in May 2018, with the entire Royal Family in attendance.
In pride of place were the late Queen and her consort. Their wedding at St George’s Chapel featured all the traditional elements of a royal union, plus unique touches like a gospel choir’s rendition of Stand By Me and a lengthy sermon by Bishop Michael Curry.
After the service, the couple embarked on a carriage procession through Windsor, while other royals exited the chapel to proceed to the castle for an official reception.
Grant Harrold, a former royal butler, recounts that as they were leaving the church, Harry’s grandfather Philip remarked to the Queen, “Thank f*** that’s over”.
This anecdote is part of Harrold’s new book set to be released this month. Harrold served King Charles at his Highgrove residence from 2004 to 2011, reports the Mirror.
On the wedding day, Harrold had been offering commentary for a broadcaster before joining his partner, Jack Stooks, who had received an invitation to observe the royal departure from the chapel and had brought his other half along as his plus one.
The Royal Family gathered at St George’s Chapel, Windsor, for Harry and Meghan’s wedding on May 19 (Image: Getty Images Europe)
The Telegraph cites Harrold’s upcoming memoir, titled The Royal Butler: My Remarkable Life of Royal Service, where he notes: “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 lead-up to Harry and Meghan’s nuptials, the then Duke of Edinburgh underwent a hip replacement operation. It was reported at the time that he was resolute in his determination not to miss their special day and aimed to be mobile by then.
During his tenure at Highgrove, Harrold had the opportunity to get acquainted with Princes William and Harry, who were then in their late teens and early 20s.
In a recent interview, the ex-butler disclosed that he first met Harry when he was 19, their initial interaction being when Harry struck him with a water balloon during a playful skirmish. He recounts that they even shared a takeaway meal before the Duke of Sussex left for Sandhurst Military Academy.
Harrold’s stint at Highgrove coincided with the period when Charles and Camilla announced their engagement and subsequently tied the knot.
In his explosive memoir Spare, Harry revealed how he and his now estranged brother William pleaded with their father not to wed his current wife.
He 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.”
However, Harrold’s observations paint a different picture from what Harry described in his book. Speaking to The Telegraph, he stated: “The four of them, I promise you, got on so well.
“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 remembers observing “no animosity” among the royals, noting: “The King used to do things to make them [William and Harry] laugh and giggle.”
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