‘Last thing Harry would want!’ Royal butler speaks out on charity nightmare | Royal | News

Former royal butler Grant Harrold has said the “last thing he wants” is for Prince Harry to be sued for libel by charity Sentebale. Trustees claimed the Duke of Sussex was sued for libel by the charity over allegations he coordinated a “negative media campaign” that caused “operational disruption and loss of reputation”.

Grant Harrold, who worked for King Charles and Queen Camilla from 2004 to 2011, said: Great Britain News: “From a personal perspective, I think this is the last thing Harry would have wanted. He’s had a lot of lawsuits filed against him over the years.”

He added: “To be honest he could probably do without it.” Online court records show the Duke of Sussex is a defendant in the libel or slander claim, along with former trustee Mark Dyer.

On Friday evening, Prince Harry responded to the allegations in a statement issued by a spokesman for himself and Mr Dyer.

The statement included the following: “As the co-founder and founding trustees of Sentebale, we categorically deny these offensive and damaging allegations.”

In a statement uploaded to Sentebale’s website on Friday evening, the trustees and chief executive said the charity wanted the court to “protect” it.

The statement said: “The charity is seeking court intervention, protection and compensation following a coordinated negative media campaign since 25 March 2025 that has caused operational disruption and reputational damage to the charity, its leaders and strategic partners.

“Prosecutions have been brought against Prince Harry and Mark Dyer, who have been identified by evidence as the architects of a negative media campaign that had a significant viral impact and triggered a cyberbullying attack against the charity and its leaders.

“Sentebale experienced the negative media campaign as false narratives circulating in the media about the charity and its leadership, attempts to undermine its relationships with staff, current and potential partners, and the forced diversion of leadership time and resources into managing a reputational crisis that did not originate from the charity.”

In a statement, the trustees said those at the charity were “deeply touched” by the generosity of donors who “stood by their side”.

He said the work Sentebale was delivering had become “increasingly critical” and added: “The charity should not continue to use its resources to manage and address the damage this negative media campaign has done to its operations and partnerships.

“This must end. The board and the executive director have initiated this legal action to ensure this protection.

“The cost of doing this is covered entirely by external funding and no charity funds have been used.”