A former royal butler has responded to the backlash he received after he shared what he thought was a photograph taken in 2004 of Prince William and Kate Middleton.
Grant Harrold, who worked as King Charles’ butler between 2004 and 2011, posted a picture of the Prince and Princess of Wales on Instagram this week, which showed the couple with their arms around each other in their younger years.
The couple were dressed casually in white t-shirts and blue jeans as they sat on the floor of a living room, with Kate perched on William’s lap and the pair both smiling at the camera.
“This wonderful photo of the Prince and Princess of Wales was taken when I first met them back in 2004. A true royal love story,” Harrold captioned the picture, which has now amassed over 20,000 likes.
However, royal fans were quick to criticise the seemingly candid snap, with many questioning whether it was created using artificial intelligence (AI).
“Oh c’mon, this is Ai,” one person wrote, while another chimed: “Obvious Fake”.
“Stop sharing ai pictures of the royal family,” a third wrote.
One person simply penned: “This is AI.”
Now, the ex-butler has responded to the social media backlash in the comments section of the post, telling fans he did not take the picture himself.
“After reading a few comments I would like to reiterate that I did not take or own this image,” he penned.
“It is how I remember them in my early years in the Royal Household.”
Harrold later on took to his Instagram Stories to seemingly confirm the use of AI, sharing a statement regarding the chatter surrounding the photograph,
“I love sharing my experiences and memories of working with the royal family and I strive for my content to be a reflection of the great years I spent as part of the household.
After reiterating that he did not take the picture, he added: “I always try to do my due diligence before sharing any posts – to me, I only saw in this image a young William and Kate that reminded me so much of how they were when I first had the pleasure of working for them.
He further explained that he “genuinely mistook” the picture to be an authentic image of the couple, adding: “While I may be adept at telling my dinner knife from my butter knife, AI, as I’m sure you can all agree, can be harder to detect.”
“Moving forward, I will be more cautious of the content I choose to share with my followers and will endeavour to ensure my platform remains an authentic and positive space that celebrates the royal family.”
Neither William nor Kate has publicly commented on the picture.