Ex-Royal Butler Shares Prince William’s 'Cheeky Prank' on Princess Kate Involving a Black Cat
Life as future king and queen might sound all duty and protocol, but for Prince William and Princess Catherine, laughter has always been part of the equation. Their relationship, according to a former royal insider, is filled with playful teasing and sometimes even elaborate pranks. Former royal butler Grant Harrold, who worked closely with the couple, recalled one such moment when William roped in the staff to help pull off a joke at Kate’s expense.
“They do love playing pranks,” Harrold told Heart Bingo. “When you say play pranks, it’s more jokey; it’s silly things they do to each other.” One incident, in particular, stood out to him. Harrold recalled how Prince William convinced Kate that a mysterious black cat roamed the royal estate, claiming it belonged to a witch who lived in a castle nearby. “I remember one occasion when I was working there, William was playing a joke on Kate and telling her there was a black cat on the estate, saying it was a witch's castle,” he said, reported Marie Claire.
Kate, intrigued by the tale, tried to spot the animal but never succeeded, because, of course, there was no such cat. “Kate wanted to see it, but we told her she kept missing it,” Harrold explained. “William was just winding Kate up, and I was backing him up, and she was believing us.” According to Harrold, this kind of mischief is part of what makes William and Kate’s relationship so relatable. “They definitely do have wind-ups, and they play practical jokes on each other,” he said. “But it’s just fun, they do it to the staff as well.”
That playful streak also shows up during family occasions. Christmas, for example, often comes with deliberately silly presents exchanged among the royals. Princess Kate herself once leaned into the tradition by gifting Prince Harry a cheeky “Grow Your Own Girlfriend” kit.
It’s a lighthearted tradition that echoes the late Princess of Wales, who was remembered for her outrageous sense of humor. Diana’s former hairdresser, Richard Dalton, shared in his book It’s All About the Hair: My Decade With Diana that she often carried plastic vomit and fake dog poop on flights, planting them to shock unsuspecting staff and friends. “Her jokes were hysterical,” Dalton said, as per Express. “She always had plastic vomit or plastic dog poop in her bag to place on people’s seats when we traveled on long flights.”
That prankster side came out in more subtle ways, too. According to Dalton, Diana loved turning ordinary moments into opportunities for laughter, once teasing about a corgi licking fake tan off her legs, and often making lighthearted jokes in otherwise serious situations. “I do find the humorous side of Diana to be very sweet,” said Ranea Plant, co-author of the book and curator of The Princess Diana Museum. “She just wanted to be ‘normal’ and was just like the rest of us.”
Much like his mother, William seems to have inherited that prankster streak, keeping humor alive in his marriage to Kate.