A former royal butler to King Charles III has issued a public apology after sharing a photograph of Prince William and Catherine, Princess of Wales, which was later questioned online for allegedly being generated using artificial intelligence.
Grant Harrold came under scrutiny after posting the image on May 23 via his Instagram page. The photograph appeared to show a young Princess Catherine sitting on Prince William’s lap as the pair shared an intimate and affectionate moment. Harrold captioned the post by recalling his early days with the royal couple in 2004, describing it as “a true royal love story.”
However, social media users quickly raised concerns about the authenticity of the image, with many suggesting that it may have been AI-generated rather than an actual historical photograph.
In response to the backlash, Harrold issued a detailed clarification on his Instagram Stories on May 26, admitting that he had believed the image to be genuine when he shared it.
“It has come to my attention that the authenticity of a recent image I shared has been questioned as AI,” he wrote. “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.”
He further explained that he did not create or own the image and had simply assumed it was authentic based on his interpretation.
“I always try to do my due diligence before sharing any posts,” he added. “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. I genuinely mistook this to be an authentic image of the pair.”
The incident has sparked renewed discussions online about the growing challenge of identifying AI-generated content, especially in relation to public figures and historical imagery.
