When it comes to the finer things in life, King Charles and Queen Camilla are nothing if not discerning. From the fragrance of the roses in the Highgrove gardens to the notes of a royal wine, the couple have cultivated a strong appreciation for all things elegant, including scent. So when an un-royal odor spread through the dining room one evening, it stopped their forks mid-air. The culprit wasn't one of Queen Camilla's dogs or The King's new puppy—according to one former royal butler, it was something much more unexpected.
Speaking on behalf of U.K. fragrance retailer La Fragancia, Grant Harrold— who worked as King Charles’s personal butler from 2004 to 2011 at Highgrove House—reveals the scent that once caused Charles and his wife Queen Camilla to pause their dinner.
“It was soon after their wedding and I had lost some weight, so I decided to get a spray tan," Harrold recalled. "I remember it left my skin with this awful sweet smell and that evening, I went to do dinner service. As I served Charles the food, he started sniffing and asked Camilla if she could smell something too."
Harrold continued that Camilla "said it was awful and joked that maybe it was me. It was so bad, I was sent to the pantry and given the night and eventually the whole week off!"
Even though the butler was banned from service until his spray tan smell wore off, The King and Queen extended him a special kindness when it came to their April 9, 2005 wedding day.
Earlier this week, Harrold told Prime Casino that he originally wasn't supposed to be invited to the then-Prince Charles's wedding to Camilla as only household staff who had been there for a year or more were allowed to attend. Since he'd only been working for Charles for eight months, Harrold shared, "All of my colleagues got their official wedding invitations coming in, but I didn’t get one."
However, about two weeks before the big day he received a phone call informing him that Charles and Camilla wanted to invite him "under the friends and family quota" for their guest list.
"I certainly was on the verge of tears. I was so excited to get invited to a royal wedding—I couldn't believe it," the former butler said. "It's extraordinary to suddenly get invited to something like that. You pinch yourself, thinking, 'I can't believe—I can't believe this.'"
