From a ‘secret hidden door in the wall’ to memories of running along a corridor alongside the late Queen Elizabeth, Grant Harrold lifts the lid on a fascinating insider’s view of Balmoral
One of the last photos of Queen Elizabeth, taken days before she died at Balmoral in 2022(Image: Getty)
Former royal butler Grant Harrold has shared his personal memories of life inside Balmoral, the Highland estate which has long held a special place at the heart of the monarchy.
Sharing his insights, the reveals why the estate meant so much to Queen Elizabeth II, how summer invitations are handled by King Charles, and the surprising stories and little-known details that make this historic Royal Deeside residence one of the most fascinating royal homes of all.
Speaking to Smooth Spins Casino, the former butler said Balmoral had been “very important” to the royals ever since the days of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert back in the mid-19th century. He said: “The late Queen loved going to Balmoral. Her and the King loved being in Scotland – they loved the Balmoral estate. They loved the castle, but they also loved their own Birkhall, which is on the estate and spent a lot of time there.”
Explaining his own relationship to the place, he went back to his youth in a council house in Airdrie in North Lanarkshire before embarking on the career as a butler that would eventually see him serve the Royal Family from 2003 to 2011.
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He said: “The most famous story for me was – as a kid, I saw a documentary that followed the Queen round and you saw her up at Balmoral dancing in the ballroom. That became a pinnacle moment for me because I wanted to dance with her at Balmoral.
“And 12 years later, on a visit to Balmoral, I did end up getting invited to the ball. I went to the ballroom in Balmoral Castle, danced with Queen Camilla, Prince Philip and then to my amazement, I got to dance with Queen Elizabeth. We had the most magical moment because it was what I dreamed of as a child.
King Charles III, pictured in the library at Balmoral Castle, has opened up the estate to the public(Image: Millie Pilkington/Buckingham Palace/PA Wire)
“It’s also where I ran down a corridor with the late Queen. When I went to announce dinner, the Royal Family were late coming out of the drawing room, so she ran down the corridor to make them go faster, and I raced down the corridor with her, and it was so funny because I never thought I’d ever run down a corridor with the Queen.
“I remember going out for walks and runs and bumping into the royals. Often royals would bump into visitors on the estate who would ironically say to them, ‘This is a royal estate, you should keep a lookout, you never know, one day you might bump into a royal’. So all sorts of crazy fun things used to happen up there.”
Harrold explained how the late Queen Elizabeth – who died at Balmoral in September 2022 – ensured her love of the estate would be passed on to the rest of her family “basically by getting them all up there every year”.
Balmoral Castle is NOT the original castle on the site(Image: ANDREW MILLIGAN/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)
“She’d make sure that every summer they were there, and it was part of the annual break and there were lots of different activities and things going on,” he explained. “There were numerous visits, like Highland Games and the Ghillies Balls. It was a real fun time for them to be up there and it went on for certainly for two months – but a bit longer for the King. They all loved being up there!”
Today, he said that all invitations to Balmoral are issued by King Charles with work on planning the schedule and guest lists getting underway around Easter “so that by the time it gets to summer it gives people plenty of notice to make sure they’re free to go up there”.
Harrold also disclosed a few ‘insider’ details about Balmoral that the wider public might not know, including the fact that the castle familiar to millions around the world isn’t the original one.
He said: “I think what people might not know is that the original Balmoral Castle was a few hundred feet from where the castle is now, and Queen Victoria and Prince Albert, when they stayed there, found it too small. They built the new castle directly just next to the old castle. At one point you had two Balmoral Castles right beside each other, and then they demolished the old Balmoral Castle. You can still see the foundations in the ground right next to the castle, just across from Balmoral Castle.
Queen Elizabeth II with Prince Philip and their sons Edward (second left), Charles (second right) and Andrew (right) at Balmoral in 1979(Image: Keystone/Hulton Archive/Getty)
“I’m sure there’s hidden rooms. I remember being told that on the estate which we used to go to – there was a secret hidden door in the wall. I think the other thing I’d say about Balmoral, in the politest way, is that it’s very dated. It’s never really changed since the 1950s. It’s always remained the same and the Queen kept it the same. However, the King has modernised it a little bit.”
Since taking the throne and inheriting the estate, King Charles has opened Balmoral to the public for much of the year – an “interesting” move, says Harrold, considering how “fiercely private and protected” it was under the late Queen and the late Duke of Edinburgh.
“The fact that the King opened it to the public was such a big deal,” he said. “I remember being absolutely shocked when the news came that he was opening it because I always assumed he’d probably give up Birkhall and then use Balmoral full-time when he’s up there.
“Balmoral Castle and its many bedrooms, receptions and outbuilding – when the royals aren’t there, which is a lot of the time, it sits empty doing nothing. I think the King noticed that and therefore opened it up to the public.
“The gardens are open so you can visit them all year round. You can visit the ballroom from April to July. But now you can actually go around the house itself. It’s such a big deal. It includes seven rooms – including the drawing room and the audience room, where the Queen last was seen by the fireplace. The fireplace has little thistles around it – you’d recognise it as soon as you see it.”
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