How King Charles "Terrified" a New Butler With Ghost Stories and a Hidden Mannequin
"I couldn't physically stop screaming."
King Charles has been known to play pranks on people in his life. For instance, the monarch used a pair of garden shears to play a joke on a rock star, and he once tricked the press by wearing a hilarious disguise. Now, one of King Charles's former butlers has shared how the royal "terrified" him with a statuesque mannequin and suggestive ghost stories.
Grant Harrold, who worked for King Charles between 2005 and 2011, recalled staying at the Castle of Mey in Scotland shortly after starting his role. Speaking to the Express, Harrold shared that some of his colleagues began telling ghost stories about a headless horseman and a gray lady who roamed the castle.
"I go to my room up a spiral staircase and I remember being terrified," Harrold told the outlet. "I felt like they were going to play a practical joke on me as a sort of initiation."
Unfortunately, Harrold was absolutely correct, and his room had been tampered with.
The Castle of Mey in Scotland.
"I put the light on and looked in the room and couldn't see anything," Harrold explained. "I looked under the bed, looked behind the curtain, and in the room was an old tower. I opened the door and there was nothing. I turned around and behind the door [was] a six foot mannequin of a man in royal uniform. I screamed. I couldn't physically stop screaming."
"Oh dear, actually I was involved. Bloody brilliant wasn't it?'"
After what must have been a rather tense night, Harrold spoke to King Charles the following morning while serving breakfast. Recalling the conversation, Harrold shared, "[The] King said to me, 'Was everything OK last night?...What happened?'"
Harrold told Charles, "[T]here was a mannequin by my door." Rather than being surprised by the horrifying discovery, The King apparently told him, "Oh dear, actually I was involved. Bloody brilliant, wasn't it?'"
Instead of being angry about the prank, Harrold told the Express, "It shows he's got a bit of a humor about him. That is exactly what he is like. He used to be so much fun and do so many funny things. He knew about [the staff playing pranks] and supported them."
