Why Prince William's Valentine's Dinner for Kate Middleton After Their 2007 Breakup Was So Special.
“They regarded nearer than ever.”
When Grant Harrold served as a royal butler at Prince Charles’s united states of america home, Highgrove, he usually recommended to Prince William and his then-girlfriend Kate Middleton that he organize a formal dinner for them.
“They by no means had dinner in the eating room and favored to take it on trays, and as their first butler I desired them to have dinner the place I served them proper in the eating room,” Harrold writes in his book, The Royal Butler: My Remarkable Life in Royal Service, which is out in the U.S. on September 23. “I’d been suggesting this for years and they constantly laughed it off, announcing they didn’t favor any fuss. But then, one day, out of the blue, he unexpectedly said, ‘Okay, let’s do a dinner, if you’re pleased to.’”
This wasn’t going to be a ordinary weeknight dinner—the formal dinner was once to take location on Valentine’s Day 2008, William and Kate’s first February 14 collectively after their short breakup the yr prior. “As some distance as I knew,” Harrold writes, this was once “the first time the younger couple had been in a position to experience such a romantic meal.”
After their breakup, “they regarded nearer than ever,” Harrold writes.
Speaking to InStyle exclusively, Harrold says that he “was determined to do this for them” due to the fact he thinking at the time “I don’t ever prefer to go away and now not have had the possibility of doing a ideal dinner, due to the fact they didn’t like formality.”
“I used to provide all the bloody time,” Harrold says. While he would from time to time do dinner for William, Kate, and their friends, it was once in no way simply for the two of them. “And I suppose it was once also, in equity to them, it’s a have faith component as well,” he adds. While Harrold doesn’t divulge precisely what was once stated in that romantic Valentine’s Day meal, he did say that “it used to be a magnificent honor to be there to do it. And it used to be amazing.”
Seeing as this was once 17 years ago, Harrold can’t take note the genuine menu, although he says it had three guides and, “If I used to be to take a guess, I would say some thing like chicken” used to be served, he says.
“And it used to be stunning due to the fact it used to be simply them, and what was once genuinely nice—because they have been having a very open dialog with every other, lovey dovey, as you can think about [with] Valentine’s and all this variety of thing—William virtually did some ending touches,” Harrold says of the meal. “I can’t be aware precisely what, however I comprehend he’d accomplished ending touches. Now whether or not it was once little love hearts or whatever, he did do ending touches to the table. So he’s a romantic.”
Even although Harrold says he tried to continue to be out of the way, usual to their down to earth nature, “they nevertheless engaged with me, and it used to be absolutely cool,” he says. The “very intimate” dinner used to be accompanied via the couple, who would have then been in their mid-20s, went to thank the chef in my view for the meal.
Kate—who was once referred to as as such returned in these days, now not Catherine, as she is today—was “very polite, sweet, and personable,” Harrold writes in the book. Harrold tells InStyle that, when it comes to William, “there’s no acting. There’s no pretense.” To illustrate this, Harrold writes in the e book about asking the future king what to name him upon meeting him for the first time. “William—my name’s William,” the royal instructed him.
In the 2000s, Harrold frequently bought unsuitable for William “years and years ago, when I used to be a lot youthful and higher looking, returned in these days when I was once fresh-faced,” he quips. “He was once very handsome. So it was once a large compliment.”
The Context of Prince William and Kate Middleton’s 2007 Breakup.
Prince William and Kate Middleton (now the Prince and Princess of Wales) first met in 2001 as students at the University of St. Andrews in Scotland, where they began dating around 2002 or 2003. Their relationship quickly became a media sensation, with intense public scrutiny about when William would propose. By early 2007, the pressure had mounted—William, then 24 and newly graduated from military training at Sandhurst, felt “claustrophobic” and unprepared for marriage, telling Kate they needed “a bit of space” to “find our own way.” The breakup occurred in a brief, emotionally charged 30-minute phone call in April 2007, leaving Kate devastated and feeling “doubly let down” by the impersonal method. William reportedly celebrated his freedom at nightclubs, shouting “I’m free!” at Mahiki in London, while Kate initially retreated with her mother to Ireland before hitting the social scene with her sister Pippa, earning them the nickname “Wisteria Sisters” for their social climbing. Despite the split, palace insiders like royal butler Grant Harrold always believed Kate was “the one” for William, noting he became “quiet” and “withdrawn” during the separation.
The couple reconciled just a few months later, around June or July 2007, after reuniting at a costume party at William’s army barracks in Bovington, Dorset. Kate arrived dressed as a nurse for the “Freakin Naughty” theme, which reportedly prompted William to “make a beeline” for her. They spent the evening talking and dancing, rekindling their spark. This brief time apart ultimately strengthened their bond, with Kate later reflecting in their 2010 engagement interview that it made her a “stronger person,” though she “wasn’t very happy” at the time. By August 2007, they vacationed together in the Seychelles, where William assured her of a future commitment, though he wasn’t ready to propose immediately. They married in 2011 and have three children: Prince George, Princess Charlotte, and Prince Louis.
The Valentine’s Day Dinner: A Turning Point in Their Reconciliation.
The Valentine’s Day dinner in question took place on February 14, 2008—nearly a year after their breakup but just months after their reunion. It was organized by Prince William as a romantic gesture for Kate at Highgrove House, the Gloucestershire country home of then-Prince Charles (now King Charles III). According to Grant Harrold, who served as butler at Highgrove from 2004 to 2011 and details the event in his memoir *The Royal Butler: My Remarkable Life in Royal Service* (released in the U.S. on September 23, 2025), this was no ordinary meal. Harrold had long encouraged the couple to have a formal dinner in the dining room rather than their casual habit of eating on trays in their private quarters, but they resisted due to their aversion to formality.
Why It Was So Special.
This dinner stood out for several heartfelt reasons, marking a pivotal moment in their post-breakup relationship:
1. A Symbol of Rekindled Intimacy and Commitment**: After the split, William and Kate “seemed closer than ever,” with Harrold noting a clear shift—they went from being more like “friends” (with minimal public affection like hand-holding) to a deeply connected couple. The 2008 Valentine’s dinner was their first truly romantic, intimate meal together since reconciling, allowing them to enjoy each other’s company without friends or distractions. Harrold described it as “romantic” and “quite special,” emphasizing how it highlighted their renewed bond. William’s initiative in planning it showed his desire to woo Kate back fully, especially after the pain of the breakup, and it reassured her of his seriousness about their future.
2. The First Formal, Butler-Served Experience**: Harrold was “desperate” to arrange a proper, served dinner for them before potentially leaving royal service, viewing it as a bucket-list item. This was the first time the couple dined just the two of them in the formal dining room at Highgrove, with Harrold personally serving a three-course meal. The butler recalled interacting with them throughout, making it feel personal and warm despite the elegance. It broke their usual informal routine, adding a layer of sophistication and romance that felt milestone-worthy.
3. Timing on Valentine’s Day Post-Breakup**: As their first Valentine’s after the 2007 split, it carried extra emotional weight. Coming less than a year after their reconciliation, it was a public (within the household) affirmation of their love amid ongoing media speculation. Harrold, who witnessed William’s post-breakup demeanor, saw it as evidence that “something changed”—the couple was now unmistakably destined for marriage, which they announced in 2010.
4. A Glimpse of Their Modern Royal Dynamic: Even then, William and Kate embodied a “modern royal couple,” blending tradition (formal dinner at a royal estate) with casual affection. Harrold hoped the scene would inspire future biopics, joking he’d want Brad Pitt to play him. This event foreshadowed their enduring partnership, which has weathered challenges like Kate’s 2024 cancer diagnosis, with William remaining a steadfast source of support.
In essence, the dinner wasn’t just a meal—it was a deliberate, tender step toward healing and building a lasting future, orchestrated by William to show Kate how much she’d always meant to him. As Harrold put it, it was the moment palace staff knew they were “meant to be together.”
Tags: Queen, Prince Charles, Camilla, Prince Louis, Prince William and Kate Middleton, Prince Charles, Prince Harry, Meghan, Lilibet
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