Ex-royal butler reveals real reason Prince Harry stayed at hotel while visiting King Charles in London

King Charles’ former butler has lifted the lid on why it’s likely Harry opted out of staying in one of the many royal homes during his brief UK visit.

Prince Harry decided to spend his sole night in London at a swanky hotel to show the royal family that he is capable of “supporting himself” financially, according to King Charles’ former butler.

The Duke of Sussex, 39, is already en route back to Montecito, California, after just 24 hours on home soil, less than an hour of which he spent with his ailing father following Charles’ cancer diagnosis, reports the New York Post.

Grant Harrold, who worked for King Charles for seven years when he was the Prince of Wales, believes that Harry opted out of staying with family at any of their many royal residences in a desperate bid to show that he’s “grown up enough to fund himself.”

“It’s strange he’s not staying at any royal residences because obviously when they were growing up, they had rooms at Clarence House and at Highgrove,” Harrold exclusively told The Post.

“Maybe he felt that it was only fair to show that he, I’m guessing, is happy to support himself by staying in a hotel.”

Harry visited his father for less than an hour during his whirlwind trip. Picture: Henry Nicholls/AFP

Charles was spotted earlier this week, shortly after his diagnosis was made public. Picture: Henry Nicholls/AFP

Harrold noted that the decision to check into a hotel rather than stay with family “made no sense” security-wise.

“If he was staying in one of the royal residences, the security is already there,” Harrold shared. “If he’s staying at a hotel, then he’ll need his own security team.”

The father of two now travels with his own security team, after his father famously stripped the Sussexes of their right to tax-funded police protection after they quit royal life in 2020.

The duke has been trying to win back UK security protection for his family ever since.

“Obviously, it’s not the best sign if he’s staying at a hotel, because you’d have thought he’d possibly stay with his brother [Prince William] and sister-in-law [Kate Middleton] potentially, or at one of his father’s homes, because let’s face it, there are a few homes,” the former royal butler said to The Post.

Meghan stayed home with their two young kids. Picture: Chris Jackson/Getty Images

Harry no longer has a royal residence in his name in the UK, after he and his wife, Meghan Markle, were forced to hand over the keys to Frogmore Cottage last year.

Harrold said Harry’s decision was fuelled by “one of two reasons, either he’s wanting to show he can support himself and he’s grown up enough to fund himself,” he notes, which “is probably what he’s doing.”

The other reason could have a deeper meaning, Harrold notes.

“If there is an ongoing fallout between him and his brother, it’s possible that he may not have been given the offer to stay,” he added.

The royal expert adds that the duke’s “quick” 24-hour visit no doubt brings the brothers’ current relationship into the spotlight, and doesn’t help to squash any rumours of a feud.

The king “would have liked him to be over for longer,” Harrold adds, claiming it’s “possible” that Harry made his stint in London very brief on purpose to avoid any further meetups.

The duke has plans to jet off to Canada with Meghan next week ahead of the Invictus Games training camp.

This article originally appeared in the New York Post and was reproduced with permission.